Proxy
by Twinnesse
Summary: Edward has transferred his residency to Seattle, and Bella isn't happy about it. Or is she? Two lifelong friends and adversaries examine the "path not taken", while facing an uncertain future. Adult AH Characters. A collaboration by Slutch 32 & TwirlGrrl
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**

**Whew, this story has been a long time in the works, and it wouldn't have even made it this far without a few people.**

**First, our AMAZING betas Maylin and AzureEyed1. You ladies rock the red-pen, give thoughtful and thorough concrit, and also make us laugh. We love you. Hard.**

**Second- Big love and HUGE THANKS needs to be sent out to Aruni, who read the outline for us, and gave the thumbs up on some big issues later in the story. We can't thank you enough Aruni- this story wouldn't have worked without your help.**

**Much love to the Ravitches in UUtopia- the best ladies we know in all of the fandom. You're all hilarious, and supportive- always. Additional thanks goes out to lambcullen for the whole talking-TwirlGrrl-down-from-the-ledge-thing occasionally. MWAH.**

**Playlist? "Shadows and Regrets" by Yellowcard sets the tone for this story.**

**We hope you enjoy our story  
Love,  
Slutch32 and TwirlGrrl**

**Rated M for language and future, well, you know. If you're not old enough to buy mature rated materials, you shouldn't be reading this (and your parent's should install Net Nanny.)**

**Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight, _obviously._**

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**Chapter 1  
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**Bella**

I pulled the truck into the reserved parking spot and shut it off. I stared at the short staircase leading to the front of our townhouse.

_1, 2, 3, .... 8 steps. That's all? Fuck. It might as well be Mt. Rainier I'm so damned tired. _

I gripped the steering wheel and leaned my forehead onto the back of my hands.

_Maybe I'm anemic, or maybe it's Mono again. But my throat doesn't hurt, just my damn head. All I have to do is get out of the truck, walk up the stairs, take some Motrin and then I can sleep..._

My head snapped up. "Whoa."

I shook my head a few times and scrubbed my face with my hands; I'd almost fallen asleep in the truck. In the middle of the day. In front of my house with only eight steps to the front door. I blinked hard a few more times before finally climbing out of the truck.

I dragged my tired body up the eight steps to the door of the townhouse that I shared with Rosalie and Alice. Alice and I were best friends, in fact, we were more like sisters. We'd grown up together in our hometown of Forks. Forks was the hometown of my parents Renee and Charlie, but we'd moved away after my parents were married. Mom died of breast cancer when I was five, and so my Dad, Charlie, moved us back to Forks where my Nana could help raise me. When Nana died, I was thirteen so Alice's mom took over the role of looking after me when Charlie was working or fishing. Which is one of the reasons that Alice is like a sister to me. In fact, almost all of the Cullens are like family to me. Almost.

Rosalie is an ex-model who decided she preferred the other side of the camera. She is probably the best photographer in the state of Washington and well-known throughout the industry; she's also tough as nails and takes absolutely no bullshit. Which is how Alice met Rosalie. Alice studied fashion design and took a job straight out of college working as an assistant for a Seattle based designer. With Alice's help he'd had a few successes and it had gone to his head. At this one shoot in particular, he was being a prima-donna to the extreme, trying to prove that his shit didn't stink.

Alice had the models dressed and accessorized for the layouts but he kept changing things and demanding re-shoots. Rosalie finally asked him how long Alice had been working for him; it had been nearly two years at the time. Rosalie bluntly pointed out that it had only been during those two years that any of his work had been recognized and while he was fairly good at designing a pair of leggings or a pencil skirt it was Alice who really knew how to make his shit work. So he should sit the fuck down, shut the fuck up, and let Alice do the fucking job that she should be doing with her own line.

He sat the fuck down, shut the fuck up, they finished the shoot and the fall line rocked. Rosalie and Alice went for drinks and Alice quit the following week; he hasn't shown on a major runway since. Alice, on the other hand, is a very successful personal shopper and is getting closer every day to launching her own line. She had lots of samples, designs, concepts and has even sold some original pieces, but according to Alice, she hasn't found her signature yet.

Three months after that photo shoot the three of us were fast friends and the lease was up on Rose's townhouse which she had previously shared with her ex-drug-addict boyfriend. He'd moved on to rehab, and then on from rehab to the same old lifestyle. Fortunately for Rose, his family was wealthy, and when he'd first gone into rehab they'd paid off the rest of the year-long lease on their three-bedroom townhouse. When time was up and she couldn't cover it on her own, Alice and I moved in... It had been a significant step up from our shoddy two-bedroom apartment.

It was a very comfortable townhouse with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an average kitchen, dining, living room, and walk-out patio on the main floor. The lower level we'd broken into three studios; Rosalie had a dark room, Alice a design studio, and I took the remaining unfinished space to use as an art studio of sorts. I painted and played with some pottery but only recreationally and I hadn't touched it in months.

Alice has two brothers, Emmett and Edward. Emmett lives here in Seattle, and first met Rosalie when he was helping Alice and I move in three years ago. Where Alice was like my sister, Emmett was like my brother, and I couldn't have been happier when he and Rosalie announced that they were getting married. The wedding is now less than a month away, and I should be focused on the joy of the occasion, right? And I am, for the most part anyway.

Unfortunately there is this other matter that has always been a bit of an enigma in my life, and that is the fifth member of the Cullen family- Edward Cullen. It should really be an expected and incidental detail that the brother of the groom would be coming home from Chicago for the wedding. But Edward Cullen has always held a larger place in my world than he really should. He's Alice's older brother, and I've known him almost my whole life too, and the rest of his family is like family to me, but Edward is, well, _different_.

I haven't spent any substantial amount of time with him in almost ten years; not since the summer before my senior year in high school, to be precise. After that year he went to College, where he pretty much stayed, so our interaction was limited to holidays, vacations, and one weekend when Alice and I went to Chicago to visit and celebrate her twenty-first birthday. So the fact that this man, who should have been like a brother to me, is coming home to attend the wedding of one of my best friends and almost-brother should be incidental, but it's not. In fact, it damn near eclipses the whole wedding extravaganza entirely. Because Edward Cullen has never been like a brother to me; in fact, he has been anything but brotherly.

Edward has been my nemesis, hero, enemy, first crush, rival, protector, first heartbreak, fantasy and even, occasionally, my friend. But brotherly? Never. Enigma? Absolutely. For most of our years growing up we fought like cats and dogs. If I said red, he said blue, literally. Red was my favorite color and blue his, so when it came time to paint the tree house, it was World War III. Alice wanted pink, and Emmett said orange; ultimately Esme said it was a tree house so it should be green. Green it was.

As we got older, it just got worse. He grew into this tall, confidant, lean, strong, and beautiful man; he was athletic and charming, intelligent and charismatic. I just became more awkward, clumsy, shy, average and hormonal. He teased, I yelled; then usually, once alone, I cried, because unfortunately I usually cry when I get mad, and he could make me madder than anyone. I haven't actually counted but I'm pretty sure that I've cried more tears over Edward Cullen than any other person in my life, other than my mom and Nana. In fact, you could probably add up all the other boys or men that I've cried over and it still wouldn't come close to the tears I've shed over Edward. So, yes, Edward Cullen is a bit of a factor in my life, especially when you consider the fact that we've never dated or even kissed, well except for that one time, but that didn't really count because he was just _so_ out of line.

What makes things so much worse is that we're both standing up in the wedding along with Alice and Garrett, both of whom will be attending with their significant others, unlike Edward and me, so of course, we've been seated together. The bachelor and bachelorette party has turned into a group retreat; a gift from Carlisle and Esme to all of us. So, I'm about to be spending a hell of a lot of time with Edward and I'm more than a little nervous about it.

Now that the wedding was less than a month away, and Alice and I were bridesmaids, or as Rosalie put it, both of us were her Maids of Honor. We were supposed to share the role, however that worked. I guess Rose didn't want to hurt either of our feelings, but I really wish she hadn't been so afraid. Carrying the title, or half of it anyway, meant a shit-load of work. Alice thrived on the planning and the details; hell she was better at it than the bride. Whereas I was just really fucking tired of it all. Don't get me wrong, I was really excited for them. But what I really wanted was a long ass nap and to not wake up until it was all over and preferably after Edward went back to Chicago, because I _really _didn't have the energy to deal with his visit.

I had started searching for the right key on my key ring, once again cursing myself for carrying too many unnecessary keys on the one ring when I heard Alice chattering away to someone on the other side of the door.

_Fuck._

Alice being home right now meant my plan for Motrin, peace and quiet, and a nap was completely shot to hell. I sighed heavily, gave up searching for the key, knocked, and propped my tired body against the door frame while I waited for her to open the door. It was strange for Alice to be home like this in the middle of the day; she was juggling so many clients at any given time that she was usually gone during business hours running from store to store sifting through the newest arrivals for her many ridiculously coddled clients.

I heard Alice approach the door and knew she was peeking out the peephole. I shoved myself off the door frame and forced a smile and quick wave at my best friend. Alice threw the lock open and opened the door, mouthing "Esme" as she pointed at the phone.

We still had the habit of referring to adults by their first names behind their backs. It was something Alice and I started when we were teenagers and trying to rebel against authority in ways that wouldn't actually cause trouble. At the time Edward and Emmett teased us and called us immature, but now as adults we all did it, unless, of course we were actually speaking to them; then they all got the respectful title they deserved.

I offered a quick nod and waved at the phone before I dropped my messenger bag by the door, shrugged out of my jacket, tossed it on a dining room chair and stomped off in the direction of the cabinet where the Motrin was kept. I got a glass of water, tossed back the three pills, and while I was wetting a washcloth I considered the other flight of stairs currently standing between me and my bedroom.

A piece of Alice's conversation grabbed my attention. "No, I just stopped home to change. I'm heading right back out."

Decision made. If she was leaving; I would get the quiet I desperately needed. As Alice finished telling her mom about the asshole that ran her over by the salad bar I shuffled over to the couch to lay down with the washcloth over my eyes.

Alice continued the conversation as she flitted about the apartment. I felt a passing moment of guilt as I heard her pick up my keys and jingle them at me before hanging them on the hook by the door. Then I heard her lift my messenger back and deposit it on the bench near the stairs. She sighed irritably as she recapped the Motrin and shut the cabinet door with a bit too much force. Finally I heard the gentle squeak of the closet door and fabric rustling as I was now sure she was hanging up my jacket. Yep, I suck.

Alice was talented. She was able to communicate her irritation with me and send non-verbal waves of guilt even though I had my eyes covered with a washcloth and couldn't even see her body language, all the while never missing a beat in her conversation with Esme.

"…oh my God, Mom that's horrible. No, I don't blame you at all, that's just shoddy workmanship…Well, have you found another contractor?...oh…oh no…he was already so far behind, it probably wasn't going to be finished before the wedding anyway, don't you think?…Well at least it's just the rehearsal dinner and not the wedding that has to be moved. …Mom, you know they won't mind. The hotel will be fine…yeah, you and Dad should stay there too during the wedding, it would be so much less stressful…uh huh…pretty much…yeah, all of her furniture is still here, but she's been staying at Emmett's for a couple of months now. Uh huh… Um…I don't know mom, isn't there any - What?!...Mom! Well gee, thanks for asking first…alright, I guess…okay…Yeah, I know. Oh! Oh, of course… Umm…well, Bella just got in actually, so let me talk to her about it; she says hi by the way. Mom says hi Bella, and to remind you about the fitting for the dresses on Friday at 2:00…uh huh. No, I haven't. I know, I will…soon…I'll let you know…yes Mom, I know. Okay, love you too. Bye."

I held up a hand to indicate that I'd heard her. Alice clicked off the phone and I heard her flop down in the armchair. She sat quietly before breaking the silence with an exaggerated sigh. "You look like shit."

I nodded slowly and groaned out a sarcastic "Thanks".

"Another headache?" I practically heard her roll her eyes.

I nodded again but didn't say anything as I was too tired to speak.

"Well, when you're feeling better, I need to talk to you about a couple of things."

_Here it comes._ I knew that Alice was frustrated with me lately. It was just equally hard to care when I'd been feeling so shitty. "Is it important?"

"No, it can wait a bit, but we should talk soon, okay?"

"Sure, just not right now. My head is fucking killing me."

"Okay. How did the interview go?"

I waved my hand indifferently to tell her I didn't want to talk about it. I'd spent the morning interviewing an up and coming band from Seattle that had just signed a major deal with a label. I'm a freelance journalist and author, currently struggling with serious writer's block and a publisher who's pushing really hard for some advance chapters on a second book that's on contract. The interview I'd had that morning was the type of work that I usually got pretty worked up about, but lately I'd been struggling to feel any kind of enthusiasm at all about my writing or life in general.

"Did you remember to pay the cable bill?"

I groaned, "Fuck, what the hell is wrong with me?"

"Bella, you need to get a planner or something, you'd forget your head if it wasn't attached. Seriously, I only asked you to take care of that one little bill. If we don't pay it today they are going to shut off the cable. Then what would you do with yourself?"

I didn't answer; I didn't have the energy for another argument about my choice of entertainment or lack of motivation, or lack of a life of any sort for that matter. Of course, she wasn't done. Once Alice's ball-of-things-you-were-supposed-to-get-done-today gets rolling, it doesn't stop. She says I need a planner, and maybe I do, but she doesn't. She always knows everything she needs to get done, and everything everyone else is supposed to get done too. So I knew what was coming next and was already regretting my decision not to tackle the flight of stairs to my bedroom, even if there were more than eight steps.

Next on Alice's list of things for Bella to get done today: The retreat.

"Did you call everyone on the guestlist for the retreat?"

"No, but I will."

"Damnit Bella, how is Esme supposed to book something without knowing how many people are coming? How am I supposed to plan activities without knowing where we're going?

And just like that a sob burst through. I don't know if it was from the pain in my head or frustration. But all of a sudden I was so overwhelmed and felt awful for dropping the ball on everything. My head hurt, my nose was running, and I was crying like a little baby. I sat up and swung my feet to the floor. I dropped my face to my hands and held the washcloth over my forehead.

"Fuck Alice, I'm sorry, I know I promised. I just can't keep track of everything. I had the interview - and the book - and I'm so tired. I'm sorry. I'll figure it out. I promise I will. I just really need to go to sleep right now. Please. I'll figure something out." I was sobbing and sniffling like I'd just run over my favorite puppy.

I felt the sofa shift next to me as Alice sat down and started rubbing my shoulder. "I'm sorry Bella. I think I've had too much caffeine today, I shouldn't have jumped all over you. I know you aren't feeling well."

Alice sighed and looked at her watch. "Well I've gotta drop off a couple of things to a client. If I hurry, I might be able to pay the cable bill on my way home."

I groaned, then sniffled, feeling like shit that Alice had to pick up my slack, again. "No Alice, I'll take care of it."

Alice shook her head. "Don't worry about it; it's no problem. You look like you really need to crash."

I nodded while I wiped my face. "Yeah, you're right. If you think you can make it then thanks."

She hopped up from the couch, motivated to go solve at least one of our mini-crises. "Listen Bella, when I was talking to Esme just now, um something's come up..."

I had dropped my hands holding the washcloth and took a deep breath, exhaling it with a gust of air. I _felt_ like I was about to start bawling again, so I must have looked like it too. Whatever it was she saw when she looked at me she suddenly stopped talking with a look of surprised concern on her face.

Whatever caused her to pause, I jumped on the opportunity. "Alice, I'm begging you, please let's finish this later. My head is seriously about to fucking explode."

She nodded with a frown on her face. She reached out and put her palm against my forehead in the motherly way that one checks for a fever. She actually whispered. "Okay, get some rest, and we'll talk tonight."

"Thanks Alice, you're a saint. I don't know what I'd do if you weren't here to save my ass all the time." With those words I lay back on the couch and replaced the washcloth over my eyes, effectively ending the conversation.

I heard Alice close the blinds on the window and then quietly slipped out of the apartment. I'm sure I was asleep before Alice reached the parking lot.

**Alice**

I frowned to myself as I made my way down to the car. About three minutes ago I was about to blow my lid. I came home after lunch to change and found her wet towel on the bathroom floor, her dishes in the kitchen sink, and she even left the TV on when she'd left this morning. It was like living with a damned thirteen year old.

I was just finishing cleaning up her morning mess when my mom called and Bella walked in minutes later. She literally dropped everything where she was standing. She left a trail of her shit through the house and didn't even bother to put the cap on the bottle of Motrin. So, of course, I cleaned up after her because I couldn't stand to look at it all.

I was ready to lose it. Bella just didn't seem to care about anything anymore. We were all doing our part to make this party happen and she hadn't done anything. Nothing! I knew she wasn't writing much lately, so I couldn't begin to understand what she was doing with herself. When she told me she hadn't paid the cable bill I was ready to blow.

But then she fell apart. I mean, she didn't yell and shout and get defensive. She was crying and sobbing like I was scolding a child; I felt bad for her. That still didn't prepare me for what she looked like when she dropped the washcloth.

When I saw her eyes it scared me. She looked really sick. Her eyes were sunken with deep dark circles around them. And they were really bloodshot. Plus she was perspiring, but when I felt her forehead she didn't seem warm at all, she felt clammy.

Instantly all of my anger and frustration was replaced with concern. Maybe there really was something wrong with her. Maybe I should call my Dad. But tell him what exactly?

That I thought something was wrong with Bella because she was so lazy? That she looked sick when she told me she had a migraine? Duh.

But it wasn't just what was going on with her today. It was getting nearly impossible to live with Bella. I love Bella like a sister, truly I do, and I'd always enjoyed living with Bella, but it was beyond difficult lately. I'm a total neat-freak and Bella was...less so, but she'd never been a complete slob like she'd turned into lately. Lately she dropped her belongings wherever she felt like, and was irritable whenever I tried to talk to her about it. In fact, lately Bella had become downright bitchy.

Was it just me? No definitely not. Something was definitely going on with Bella. She's never had migraines before that I remember. I thought back to the last couple of months. She'd been moody, irritable, slept all the time, had a lot of headaches. Maybe she was depressed, or... I suddenly remembered the couple of mornings that Bella had woken up and complained about being nauseous. She'd even skipped her morning coffee in favor of some crackers and water.

_Holy fucking shit!  
_

Wait. She couldn't be. But that would explain everything.

I groaned. "Alec; fucking Alec." Obviously he's the father. Damnit! Now she'll be stuck with him forever.

I was drumming my fingers on the steering wheel and my non-driving knee started bouncing rapidly. Oh man. This was really bad timing. Such shitty awful timing.

Well, I'd just pretend that I hadn't figured it out. If she wanted me to know, then she'd tell me. Okay, so maybe she was just really embarrassed. Maybe she wasn't going to keep it. Maybe she hasn't even realized it. I'd give her the chance to talk about it, and if she didn't want me to know...well I couldn't force her.

So I'd tell her that I'd decided to move in with Jasper. If she was pregnant, well she'd obviously tell me then, right? If she wasn't, or if she wasn't going to keep it, well, my plans wouldn't change anything. I'll just make sure to be there for her. But whatever happens I definitely couldn't put off telling her anymore. Jasper and I had been talking about it for nearly a year now and with Rosalie and Emmett getting married, it just made more sense to do it now, especially since the lease was up for renewal in mid-July. But, shit, this was a major curveball. I couldn't up and leave her right now if she actually was...

I wish I'd realized what was going on with her before I talked to Esme. Thanks to my earlier conversation with Esme, in less than a week, a house guest would be arriving and would be staying in Rosalie's room until at least after the wedding, and probably longer; she is going to kill me. He can't stay here. Not now. Not with this. But what do I say. No he can't stay here because I think Bella's pregnant even though she won't tell me. No. Bella tells me everything

Well, back to plan A. I give her a chance to tell me. If she does, then we'll figure it all out together. If not, well then, I guess he stays. I snorted when I thought about it. I mean, I couldn't help but laugh. Of all the people to shove in Bella's face right now. This was the worst.

"Fucking Edward. Oh My God."

Things are about to get very interesting.

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**ENDING AN:**

**Whew. There.**

**Did you like the opening? Tell us if you did- we'd love you to review. We promise to reply.**

**First EPOV comes up next, and that will post tomorrow on October 30th.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**

**Thank you so much for the faves, alerts and reviews! We weren't expecting that kind of response on the first chapter! If we haven't replied yet, we will- promise!**

**Love and hugs to Maylin and AzureEyed1 for working the red-pen magic. They. Are. Awesome.**

**As usual, waves and nuggles to the Ravitches in UUtopia for being the awesome ladies they always are.**

**Playlist- "Thunder" – Boys Like Girls**

**Rated M for language and future, well, you know. If you're not old enough to buy mature rated materials, you shouldn't be reading this (and your parents should install Net Nanny.)**

**Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight, _obviously._**

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**Edward**

I unlocked my apartment door and shuffled inside, tossing my keys and the mail on the kitchen counter as I passed through. I paused briefly at the coffee maker, thinking about everything I had to do; the packing, the phone calls, the remaining travel arrangements. It didn't seem like much, but having worked so many hours lately, I was exhausted and overwhelmed.

Frustrated, I ran a hand through my hair and scowled at myself for waiting until the last minute. I could have been making calls from work, or packing a box or two between shifts. I could have accepted Alice's offer to make phone calls for me, and she had even offered to spend some time looking at apartments near the hospital for me. But each time we talked and she'd offer help again, Alice would also talk about all of the wedding preparations she was helping Rose with in between her heavy client load. I felt guilty even thinking about accepting her offer.

I quickly prepared the coffee maker and turned it on, then made my way into the living room, toeing off my shoes before falling back on the sofa exhausted. The past few weeks, I had worked as many shifts at the hospital as possible. I planned these last weeks in Chicago that way so that I would have several weeks off once I arrived in Seattle. I hadn't taken a vacation in years, and with the exception of a few holidays and weekends, I hadn't spent much time with my family since undergrad.

In fact, I hadn't been home since the holidays a year and a half ago.

New Years.

Bella.

Bella was my big 'what if', 'road not taken', single biggest regret. We grew up together and like most hormonal teenage boys in Forks, I'd had a thing for her. The problem was that she was my younger sister's best friend and only thought of me as a big brother; a thing I'd tried to change once and failed miserably and painfully. I thought I'd pretty much burned my bridge with her when she came to Chicago with my sister for her twenty-first birthday. I'd been arrogant and bullheaded; Tanya, my girlfriend at the time, and Bella hated each other and to top it all off I'd pretty much accused Bella of acting like a whore out of jealousy. It was not my most shining moment.

The following summer, single once again, my parents sent me a ticket to join the rest of the family on a two-week vacation in Hawaii; imagine my apprehension when I also learned that my parents insisted that Bella join us. It had been rocky at first, but ultimately we had an amazing time together and it almost changed everything between us...until I chickened out again. Two years ago, I'd gone home for the holidays ready to once and for all remedy all the what-ifs, and regrets. Unfortunately, Bella had brought her boyfriend; her knuckle-dragging boyfriend, Alec.

The _fight_ with Bella's knuckle dragging boyfriend, Alec. Another not-so-shining moment in my life.

Like I'd done a hundred times over the last eighteen months I sighed and rolled my eyes, remembering every detail from that night. What an amazing fuck up that had been. The things he'd said to her; about her. The look of embarrassment in her eyes when I defended her. The way she practically growled at me, and pushed me back before I swung at him.

I quickly pushed the memory aside. I didn't want to think about Bella, and I especially didn't want to think about Alec. I had a month off to spend with my friends and family and re-establish my life in Seattle. Bella was going to be a bridesmaid in Emmett and Rosalie's wedding; I, of course, am a groomsman, so we were going to be forced to spend a good deal of time together. Alec or no Alec, I was intent on repairing the mess I'd made at that New Years party. Bella and I would be friends if nothing more by the end of this month, even if that asshole was standing in the way of my road not taken.

I scrubbed my face with my hands, inhaled deeply, then stood up from the couch and headed for the kitchen to make a cup of coffee, pulling my cell phone from my pocket on the way.

As I poured my coffee with one hand, I scrolled through my contacts with the other, until I found Garrett's and hit the call button.

"I didn't forget my offer to help you pack man, I'll be there in 30." Garrett said as soon as he answered the phone.

"I forgot that I was out of beer. Do you mind picking up some on the way?"

"Sure, do you care what I get?"

"Do I ever?" I said, stifling a yawn. "I'm drinking coffee right now- just got off a 22 hour shift."

"Well that sucks man, you're done now though, right?"

"Not quite. I'm due back at six AM Wednesday for my last thirty hours on call and I have exit interviews scheduled on Friday. Then I'm done until July." I replied.

"Lucky you. Okay, I'll pick up beer, give me an extra 15."

I laughed, "Right, I'll see you in 90 then."

"Yeah, fuck you. You'll see me in 45 asshole." Garrett said, and quickly hung up.

Back in the living room, I set my phone and coffee on the table, then went to retrieve the moving boxes and packing supplies I'd had delivered last week. Then I sat on the living room floor assembling boxes, and sorting books, framed photos and CDs. More time must have passed than I realized because before I knew it, Garrett was pounding on my apartment door. I glanced at my watch and grinned; it had been almost exactly 90 minutes.

"Door's open!" I shouted from the living room.

Garret came in, slamming the door behind him, mumbling about having to go to three different stores before he found what he wanted. I heard the refrigerator door open, a clinking of bottles, the door closing, followed by the hiss of bottle caps being removed. Within seconds he was in the living room handing me an open bottle.

"Thanks" I said, taking it from him. Garrett nodded then wove through the stacks of boxes, and around to the other end of the couch where he plopped down and took a long pull from his beer.

While my family was happy about my transfer to Seattle, Garrett wasn't. He'd spent the few times we'd seen or talked to each other in the month since I'd finally told him, either trying to avoid the subject, moaning about how long I'd waited to tell him, or straight out trying to convince me that I should change my mind and stay in Chicago.

I never said much when he'd start, and always let him unload on me. I was silently ashamed of holding out for so long before telling him about my plans to move. However, I knew that even if I'd told him about my plans earlier, he still would have tried to talk me out of it. In reality, I'd just put off the inevitable.

Garret was one of my oldest friends, certainly the oldest I had in Chicago. We'd been thrown together the first semester of our freshman year of college, complete opposites, forced to share a dorm room together.

He was a wound up, cocky and loud Anthro major; he pushed every button I had and reminded me immediately of my brother Emmett. We were both very focused, just in opposite directions. For Garrett there was always a party to go to, a girl to chase, but never enough time to study. Back then, I just wanted to blend in, stay focused, get high marks and hopefully finish undergrad early. My father had finished med school in twelve years, I had intended on doing it in eleven.

We wanted to kill each other by the end of that first week. By the end of the first month, we both stormed into housing to request new room assignments, where we were ultimately denied. Faced with the rest of the semester together, we established some ground rules. I was forced to lighten up, and Garrett agreed to use some restraint during the week. By the end of the semester we were almost getting along. The second semester went a bit better as I realized I could manage my course load and still have some fun, albeit usually as the designated driver. Garrett was on academic probation.

Near the end of the second semester, Garrett realized that he still hadn't managed to balance his extracurricular activities and studies well enough, and was dangerously close to not meeting the minimum grade requirements. In a panic, he begged me for help. With my help, he aced a couple of his finals, crunched out a few papers, and finally made the grades to squeak out another semester.

The following year when Emmett transferred schools and came to Chicago, Garrett and I moved out of student housing and the three of us shared an apartment. For the next several years we were known as The Tripod, and the two of us, me and Garrett, would naturally stand beside Emmett when he married Rose next month.

Garrett didn't take it nearly as hard when Emmett took the job at the Seattle office. Maybe that was because Emmett had to come back to Chicago for regular meetings at the main office and we got together whenever he did. Maybe the difference was that he was going to be left alone now; whatever it was, he was not happy with my decision.

"Really G, thanks for coming over."

"I had nothing to do anyway." Garrett shrugged then took a long pull from his beer. "So, what can I do for you? I mean, other than trying to talk you out of this nonsense again."

I laughed, "This again? The transfer has been a done deal for months. There's nothing to undo. And even if it was possible, it's not like I'd want to anyway."

"But, I thought you were some sort of legacy shit here. Didn't your dad do his residency in Chicago?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it legacy Garrett." I spat. "That implies that I somehow got a free ride, and let me tell you, I've worked my ass off."

Garrett shrugged and waved in the air, the hand still holding a bottle of beer. "This is my point man; you earned it all. Hell, you've dreamed about this shit since you were a kid, so I don't understand the sudden urge to bolt."

I sighed at having to go through this again, but he was right. "Listen, I told you. I can't explain it. I don't expect you to get it, because I'm not sure I even understand it myself, but Chicago just doesn't feel- right. At least not anymore."

"Does this have anything to do with Tori?"

"What? Why would she have anything to do with this?" I stared at Garrett in confusion, as I wondered why he'd think that a six month long, barely serious relationship would have anything to do with my decision. He continued to watch me so he saw me flinch when the realization finally hit me; I'd never told him about breaking up with Tori.

He shook his head and said, "Yeah, thanks for telling me. Kate ran into her last month. We were both a little shocked to find out that way."

"It has nothing to do with her." I insisted.

"Are you sure?"

"What? Fuck yes I'm sure. Garrett, where are you getting this shit?"

"Hear me out man. You keep this transfer a secret all this time, right? Then the same week you finally decide to let the cat out of the bag, Kate runs into Tori and finds out you guys broke up. What am I supposed to think?"

I knew I should have told him. Kate had been the one to introduce Tori and me last summer, so it was only a matter of time before they ran into each other. The two weren't close, but they were colleagues.

I gulped down the rest of my beer then started to walk to the kitchen for another as Garrett followed close behind. "One thing has nothing to do with the other." I said sharply, and then I paused and frowned. "Well that's not exactly true. I ended it with her because I found out I got the transfer."

"So? People do long distance all the time." Garrett still looked confused "I thought you two were getting serious."

"She was serious; I was comfortable. I put the application in before we started dating and when I found out it was approved, I didn't see any reason to drag it out; there was no future there. Not telling you about the break-up was an unintentional oversight, mostly because I gave the situation very little thought myself. Not telling you about the move sooner, well first I didn't want to jinx it, after that, well, I just suck. Sorry."

Garrett's mouth opened, closed, then opened again. He finally just nodded.

"So, now you know." I nodded at him. "She had nothing to do with it."

He still hadn't said anything, and that was completely out of character for Garrett, so I tried to lighten the conversation. "I thought you didn't like her anyway? I remember you using the term bitch to describe her?"

"Well yeah. She was. She is." Garrett snorted, then he rolled his eyes. "Christ, I feel like a chick after this conversation. Thank God Kate's not here."

I smiled and opened the fridge, pulling out another two bottles, handing him one.

"Cullen, I think we're going to need more beer." Garrett said as I handed him the bottle opener.

"I'll make you a deal. If we get done packing, and there's no beer left, we'll head out for a while. One last time?"

Garrett laughed as he turned back towards the living room. "I was hoping you'd forget about the packing and we'd just go out?"

I followed, picking up a few moving boxes on the way, then sat on the edge of the couch looking at the stacks of books, CDs, and pictures that I'd tried to organize earlier. I'd sorted them according to where they'd be going. Most would be sent to storage until I was able to find an apartment, but some, like my photographs and favorite books, I preferred to have with me. I'd have them shipped to my parent's house instead.

Garret hadn't said anything since we sat down, so I looked over at him. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously for a few moments, then exhaled a long breath. "So you're really doing this then?"

I closed my eyes and sighed with exasperation. "Seriously Garrett, I don't remember you giving Em this much crap when he went back to Seattle."

"It's not the same. First of all, Emmett graduated."

"Garrett, I have a fucking M.D!"

"Whoa there, I'm not done." He held up his hands. "It just feels like you're ditching man. I don't know. Who's gonna look after your pansy ass? Make sure you don't start to age prematurely?"

Garrett, since the first time I met him, had told me that I reminded him of a grumpy old man, and if it wasn't for him I'd be prematurely gray by now. As he put it, he helped keep me regular.

"In case you forgot, you moron, I'm moving to the same city where Emmett lives. Is he not capable of looking after my pansy ass?"

"It's not the same. He's getting married. Pretty soon he'll be an old pansy ass too."

"Okay Garrett," I chuckled, "I dare you tell him that. Better yet, I double dare you to tell Rose."

"Hell no! Wait!" He exclaimed, then shook his head. "You're changing the subject!"

"I'm not changing the subject. As usual Garrett, I'm pointing out a flaw in your argument."

"Okay, so Em wouldn't take to my calling him a pansy ass very well. And Rose? God, she'd rip my nuts off. I love her, but she scares me." He physically shuddered. "I don't mean to whine like a bitch here, it just came out of left field and I'm trying to wrap my head around this whole fucking thing."

"Listen Garret. Remember when I said Chicago didn't feel right anymore?"

"Yeah, and I thought-"

"Christ Garrett, will you for once, just let me finish?" I stood up from the couch, cutting him off before he said anything else. He sank back into the couch and watched me pace the living room.

I wasn't even sure myself, why I jumped at the chance to leave. I'd been trying to figure it out for months. Why, when Dad planted the seed about the residency opening, I didn't even have to think about if I'd apply or not, I just knew I would.

I stopped and looked at Garrett, who was still staring at me nervously, like he was waiting for me to snap. I shook it off and started to pace again as I ran through everything in my head. Without even thinking, I opened my mouth and the words began to pour out. "I don't think I ever liked Chicago. I mean the winters are too cold, the summers are too hot. And the smell- God, the smell! Oh! And the crime, don't even get me started on that. And to top it all off, I think I only came here out of some weird fucked up delusion that it would please my father. And so help me, if you utter the words daddy issues Garrett, I'll end you."

I paused to take a deep breath, so Garrett took that his opening, "Dude, do you even know the crime rate in Seattle? And no, you don't have Daddy issues. Mommy issues though…"

I glared at him and he cleared his throat and shook his head, "That's apparently a discussion for another time then."

I continued to walk back and forth through the living room trying to pull myself together. I finally stopped and said "Chicago just doesn't fit me anymore. I constantly feel like I'm wearing a tie that's too tight. I can't breathe here man." I started to pace again, when Garrett finally spoke.

"Okay Buttercup, I'm still not sure I get it, but whatever. I already knew about your Mommy issues, and I'm sure the two are related, so sit the fuck down because you're starting to make me dizzy with all the pacing and shit. Did you get everything out of your system now?" Garrett pulled himself to the edge of the couch and began stacking books in the box between his legs. He took my silence as a sign of affirmation and looked up at me with a smile. "Good, because we have some shit here to pack up, and I'm counting on making it to the bar tonight."

"That's it? You're just dropping it then?" I asked, surprised.

"Well, it's pretty clear you hate it here, and that's news to me." He said as he kept packing, not once looking at me. "And while what I really want to do is pick it all apart, and find a way to make you stay, I'd rather spend what will probably be the last night hanging with you, not acting like a girl."

We worked in silence for a few moments before Garrett finally broke it.

"So Cullen, did Tori know about your Mommy issues?" Garrett smirked then looked at me "Oh, too soon?"

I reached across the table and pulled the first book my hand found and threw it at him. "I knew you weren't done asshole."

The book made a large smack when it connected with Garrett's forehead and then fell in his lap. The look of shock on his face made me laugh loudly. That is, until I realized which book I'd thrown.

This was going nowhere good.

"What the fuck man? That hurt!" Garrett glared at me, rubbing his forehead while I quickly processed how I could possibly remove that book from sight.

"What is wrong with you?" He said, still rubbing his forehead "And why are you looking at me like that?"

"First, stop with the mommy issues, okay?" I said, trying to play it cool. I pulled another framed photograph from the table and began to cover it in bubble wrap as I continued, "And second, it's Doctor Pansy Ass."

Garrett started at me silently for a moment, and then let out a loud booming laugh.

"Nice." He nodded and gave me a thumbs up as he tossed the book from his lap to the table. "Doctor Pansy Ass it is then."

When I had finished wrapping the frame, I reached across to the table for the book, but Garrett slapped his hand down on top of it and said "Whoa, hold on there."

Garrett carefully examined the cover before he looked up at me, staring blankly. I slowly slumped back on the couch and closed my eyes tight, swallowing hard.

"What. The fuck. Is this? '_Stealing Home'_?" I turned my head and chanced a look with one eye. Garrett was going back and forth, staring at the book's cover, at me, then back at the book.

"It sounds like baseball, but dude, this is so not about baseball." He continued, holding up the book towards me. The cover, I'd already known very well, depicted a baseball player, half naked with his jersey unbuttoned and falling off. The woman he held in the artwork, looked much like the stereotypical naughty librarian sporting disheveled upswept hair, glasses, and clad in what could only be described as a too tight and low cut business suit. Garrett was absolutely right; It may have sounded like it was about baseball, but it wasn't. At least not in the way where my owning it would make any sense to Garrett.

"Please tell me Tori left this here." He said

"No, she didn't leave it here. It's mine, okay? I know the author; you do too in fact." I reached to grab the book from Garrett's hands, but he yanked it back, and held it behind his back.

"Dude." He pulled the book back out and carefully examined the cover, and finally noticed the name beneath the book's title. "_Stealing Home_ by Isabella M. Swan. Isabella? Bella? I mean, you mentioned she wrote a book, but I just assumed, I don't know, that it was a cookbook, or one of those self-help books or some shit."

Garret turned the book over to its back cover, finding what he had been looking for- Bella's picture. It really was a beautiful picture of her; she looked much older, or more mature? In the photo it appeared as if she were walking away, but casually glancing back at the photographer. Her long chestnut hair framed her small face in a cascade of waves, making her eyes, the same shade of brown, pop out and smile all on their own. She looked the same, but different; her ever present smirk was now almost sultry.

"Cullen, I haven't seen her since, what, that time she and Alice flew out to visit? That was how many years ago?"

"Six."

"Six? Really? Dude, I still can't believe this woman is _your_ Bella."

"She's not _my_ Bella."

"And for fuck's sake, why not? Edward, she's hot!" He continued to stare at Bella's picture then his eyes flashed to mine. "Wait! Is this why you want to go back to Seattle? He waved the book at me.

"Christ, Garrett, no!"

"So tell me then, why do you even have this?"

This also, was going nowhere good.

"She's my sister's best friend- you know this." I said, hoping he'd leave it at that, but Garrett continued to look at me, waiting for me to offer a better explanation.

"I just did my part and bought a copy. It's a bestseller now." He blinked, but still stared.

"Everyone in my family did." I blurted out.

"Even Emmett?" He asked, surprised.

"Sure, ask him." I was certain that Rose would have a copy, but would Em have read it? I doubted it.

"Oh, believe me, I will." He laughed, then waggled his eyebrows. "So, you've read it?"

"No." I wrinkled my nose, "of course not."

"Okay Dr. I'm-so-fucking-lying-through-my-pansy-ass-teeth, did Em's copy come dog-eared as well?"

_Shit._

Just then my cell phone started to vibrate on the coffee table, as _Mama Mia_ blared through our silence. If anyone else had called at that very minute, I'd have been grateful for the save.

Garrett's eyes snapped back to mine. "ABBA Edward? ABBA? I sincerely hope that's _your_ Mama Mia calling, or maybe you'd be better off looking for a transfer in San Francisco instead of Seattle because you're either clearly gay, or yeah, like I said, Mommy issues. Big ones. Huge."

I threw him a dirty look and picked up my phone, quickly stalking out of the room and back to the kitchen before I answered. "Hey Mom."

"Hi sweetie, are you almost finished packing?"

"I just started today actually. I've been so busy at the hospital, trying to wrap things up." I said, trying to stay focused on the conversation with mom, as I tried to ignore Garrett's laughter in the living room. I rolled my eyes. "Listen Mom, is there something important you needed?"

"Well, yes actually. You know the renovations on the house haven't been going as smoothly as we'd planned, and-" Just then Garrett stumbled into the kitchen laughing, as he clutched Bella's book to his chest.

"'_That kiss had you're-mine-force, combined with how-do-you-want-it?-tenderness.'"_ Garrett kept laughing, and flipped the pages, "Oh, and there's more!"

_Fuck. My. Life._

I rubbed my forehead and pinched the bridge of my nose as I moved the cell phone to my chest, hoping to block out Garrett. "Can you shut the hell up?" I whispered.

Garrett stopped laughing abruptly, and then quickly started reading from the book again. "Oh this is too good… '_Andy took in my appearance with a feral smile, as if I were something to eat. His eyes met mine, and then slowly traveled lower, pausing briefly at my heaving bosom, He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed 'You're going to be the death of me yet.'"_

"Edward? Are you still there?" I could hear my mother faintly. "Is that Garrett? Is he helping you pack?"

I put the phone back to my ear. "Yeah, he's here. Is he helping? Not so much."

Garrett, still laughing, leaned towards the phone "Hi Mrs. Cullen!" Then he walked back into the living room, giggling like a school girl, as he continued to flip through the book.

"Why on earth does he still call me that? I've told him repeatedly all these years to call me Esme."

"Mom?"

"I'm so glad you've had him there with you in Chicago, Edward. Emmett certainly misses him."

"Mom?"

"And we're all so pleased that he's bringing Kate out for the wedding. We've heard so much about her."

"Mom? I don't mean to be rude, but I really do have a lot to do. There was something you needed?" I sighed, hoping Mom would get to what she needed to talk me about.

"Well, as I said, the renovations haven't gone well, and unfortunately they won't be done before you get here. In fact, right now our home has been reduced to a pile of rubble, one bathroom, a barely functioning kitchen, and a master bedroom."

"That's too bad mom."

"Yes it is, and I'm sorry, but I think you're going to have to stay with Alice, Edward."

And there it was. Living with Alice, meant living with Bella.

"Have you talked with Alice about this yet?" I asked, even though I knew she hadn't. If she had, Alice would have called me first.

"I thought I'd tell you first, before I call her."

"Mom? What about Bella?"

"What do you mean Edward?" My mother asked, surprised.

"She hates me." I said matter-of-factly

"Oh nonsense, she does not." And then she actually chuckled. "Edward, Bella is family, and besides that, you two haven't spent time together in so long, how could you possibly think she hates you."

"Can I reserve the right to crash on Emmett's couch?"

"Please Edward, just give it a chance. And perhaps try to behave this time?"

"Behave?" I asked, offended "What does that mean?"

"You know what I mean Edward. I know Bella may frequently overreact, but if you would try not to tease her so much-"

"Excuse me? Tease her?" I cut her off.

My mother audibly sighed, "You do, and you're both old enough now that you should be able to spend time together without acting like children."

I didn't say anything in reply, because she was right.

"Your father and I are both, so very sorry about this, but it's unfortunately out of our hands."

I sighed, "I understand mom."

"Sweetie, thank you. I guess I should call Alice then. I'm sure you'll hear from her today as well."

"Yeah, I'm sure I will," I said, knowing Alice would be calling as soon as her call with Mom ended.

After Mom went on for a while about how happy everyone was about my transfer, we said our goodbyes. I ended the call, and set the phone down on the kitchen counter before I chanced going back into the living room- where Garrett was still laughing.

I fell back on the couch and without saying anything, started wrapping photographs in bubble wrap again.

"So how's Mama Mia then?" Garrett asked as he closed Bella's book and set it back on the table.

"Having contractor problems." I said without looking up.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that my plans have changed."

Garrett raised an eyebrow, "So you're not going to Seattle now because the Doc and Esme are having contractor problems?"

"No." I said with a laugh, "I'm still going."

"Sorry, but I don't get it."

"What it means is that I'm going to have to stay with Alice until I find a place."

"Doesn't Bella live with Alice?" Garrett was smiling now.

I nodded, "She does."

Garrett pulled his phone from his pocket and started punching at the keypad.

"What are you doing?" I asked, now looking at him.

"Calling Kate to see if she can leave a few days early. I'm so not missing this."

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**A/N**

**So how was the first EPOV? Let us know what you think! Do you like Garrett? We love him- so much, that we made sure he'd be around a while longer. **

**We need to mention, now that we've introduced both Bella and Edward, updates will start coming about once a week, maybe twice a week at some parts of the story. We have quite a bit pre-written, but for the sake of our families and the sanity of our betas, we can't keep up this pace.**

**As always, thank you so much for reading, reviewing, hitting the favorite and alert buttons.**

**Love, S32 and TG**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**

**Again, thank you for the support we've received on this story- for reading, reviewing, the faves and alerts. We appreciate it all!**

**Love to Maylin and AzureEye1 for their red-pen magic and concrit. MWAH! And snorgles to the chicas in UUtopia.**

**Songs for Chapter 3: "Going Under" – Evanescence, as well as "Rootless Tree" – Damien Rice. **

**See you at the bottom…**

**Rated M for language and possible future, well, you know. If you're not old enough to buy mature rated materials, you shouldn't be reading this (and your parent's should install Net Nanny.)**

**Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight, _obviously._**

**

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**Chapter 3**

**Bella**

"Bella, rise and shine. I made coffee."

I rolled onto my back and groaned, throwing my arm over my eyes.

_Did she say she made coffee? _

I lifted my arm to look around the living room. I was still on the sofa, but the light streaming through the eastern facing windows told me my afternoon nap had turned into an all-nighter; the clock said seven thirty. I remembered falling asleep the previous afternoon, but had I really slept that long?

_Seventeen and a half hours?_ _Could that be right?_

I threw my feet onto the floor and pushed my stiff body upright, leaning against the back of the couch as I was hit with a wave of dizziness. My head still hurt, but it was more like a dull ache now. I groaned again and tipped my head back against the back of the couch.

_I am SO calling a doctor today._

I opened one eye when the smell of rich coffee drifted directly under my nose. I took the cup from Alice and then she sat in the armchair across from me, only to immediately jump up again. "Wait. Maybe you should have tea."

I squinted at her as I sipped from my cup.. "Why?"

Alice shrugged. "I don't know. I, um, just thought maybe you'd be trying to cut back on coffee for some reason."

"Again, why?"

Alice shook her head and waved her hand. "Nevermind."

"Why would I suddenly be cutting back on coffee? I can hardly stay awake these days."

Alice dipped her head in agreement. "Exactly. I thought maybe you'd be trying to take better care of yourself. You clearly haven't been feeling well lately. Have you seen a doctor?"

I cleared my throat before rasping out "Nah, I'm going to call one today."

"Good. I have a great GYN and I'm pretty sure they have OB because there are always pregnant women in the waiting room. I'll leave the card on the counter. By the way, I came home last night and you were still dead to the world. I sat here and watched TV for over an hour, but you never moved. Make sure you mention how much you've been sleeping. I think it's normal to be a little anemic…"

She cleared her throat and then glanced towards the kitchen. "Oh, your cell started beeping, so I put it on the charger for you."

"Thanks." _What the hell is she babbling about? _

We sat quietly and sipped our coffee. Alice looked like she wanted to say something, but was waiting for me to talk first. Something was definitely up with this girl, but I needed to be at least three-quarters through my first cup of coffee before my brain was going to function at even half Alice-speed.

After a full five minutes where I chose to ignore Alice's impatience, she finally sighed loudly and started in.

"So, what's your plan today?"

I shrugged and looked at the reflection of the top of my coffee. "I don't know. I'll probably try to write a bit and check in with Brady." An automatic frown crossed my face.

Brady, my publisher, had been the biggest source of stress in my life lately. I'd been avoiding him for a while now, but eventually I needed to just bite the bullet and ask for an extension on the book.

"What about you? Big shopping plans today?"

Alice shrugged and then changed direction, presumably to whatever actually was on her mind. "So, Bella, can we talk for a minute?"

I nodded. "Of course, but can I pee first? This sounds like it might take a while."

Alice gave me a quick nod, so I shuffled off to the bathroom wondering if she was finally going to tell me that she was planning on moving in with Jasper. I'd been anticipating it for over a year now and with the lease up for renewal, I was positive the time was coming. As I washed my hands I decided that if she didn't mention it, I would. Alice is easy to live with, but I wouldn't want any one else for a roommate, and couldn't afford the townhouse on my own. If she was considering moving in with Jasper, she needed to decide now while we could get out of the lease easily.

Alice was topping off her coffee when I came back out. Once she resumed her position I jumped in. "Okay, what's up?"

Alice pretended to pick at her finger nails while she decided on the best way to start. "Well, first, I wanted to ask you something. Are you really okay? I mean obviously, something's going on with you, but is there anything you want to tell me?"

The corner of my lips pulled down and I shrugged. "No. I'm fine; a little run down lately with this bug, but otherwise good, why?"

Alice shrugged. "You've been more than a _little_ run down lately. You don't go out very much and you sleep a lot, which makes sense if you've got a bug, but I've just been noticing a lot of other things. So I wanted to make sure you knew that you could tell me anything. You know I won't judge, right?"

I snorted. "Alice, seriously, you always judge. I mean, who are you kidding? That's what you do. But I still tell you everything, and I'm calling a doctor today, just so you know. I'm aware that something's definitely not right with me."

Alice was still frowning and now wrinkled up her nose. "I know that things have been tough the last few months. You know, Alec and everything. Are you doing okay?"

Now I blinked because that came out of left field. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's all good, I swear."

Then it dawned on me what she was getting at and I scowled at her. "Alice could you just drop the whole Alec thing? You're as bad as your brother. "

"What's that supposed to mean? If you're referring to him saying you can do so much better, then yes, I am, but if you're referring to his stubbornness and quick temper, then I'll say pot meet kettle."

I groaned and rolled my eyes at her as I was heading towards the kitchen for a refill.

When I returned I looked at Alice expectantly. "So, all of this concern and this big talk was just about Alec?"

She grinned back. "It was on the agenda, but not my main focus."

I arched my eyebrows. "Okay, so what else is on the agenda?"

Alice looked at her lap. "Well I've got some news- two pieces of news in fact."

"Good or bad?"

"Good I think, but…" she chewed on her lip for a second then tipped her head while she pondered what I would think.

"Ok. Are you finally going to tell me that you want to move in with Jasper?" I grinned.

Alice's eyes bulged and she palmed her open mouth before lowering her hand to speak. "You knew?"

I rolled my eyes. "You're not the only psychic around here you know. Alice, I've known you my whole life. I knew it would happen eventually and, quite frankly, I expected it a lot sooner than this, but with the wedding, and the lease being up for renewal in July, I figured this was coming."

"You're not mad?"

"No, I'm not mad. In fact, I've been crunching numbers and trying to decide what I want to do now too. Not that I don't love living with you and Rose, but I'm ready to have my own space."

Alice eyebrows arched. "So you don't think that you'll..."

I shook my head. "No. I want my _own_ place. I'm still receiving royalties from _Stealing Home_. I could even use the advance from my second book to buy a house, but since that's not going very well, I'll probably save it and just rent. I can pretty much pick and choose my freelance stuff now, so I'll probably pick up more articles each month until the book comes together."

Alice looked so relieved it was almost comical. "Seriously?"

I smiled. "Seriously. I'm glad you finally told me, though. I was planning on throwing Jasper a bone with an awkward moment in front of your parents at dinner this weekend. I was going to complain about the after-hours noise level and ask you to go to his place the nights you two want to play ride 'em cowboy."

I dodged as Alice leaned over to smack my arm. For a tiny thing, she could really hurt.

"Seriously, I'll give notice with the manager today and start looking for my own place." I added a casual shrug to tell Alice that I was really okay. "Is that what you've been so anxious to talk to me about?"

Immediately Alice's bright mood seemed to dim a bit and she glanced out the window. "Mostly, but something else came up yesterday when I was talking to Esme. You heard that they've been having trouble with the remodel project, right?"

"Yeah, I only heard your side of the conversation, but it sounded like they finally fired their contractor huh?"

Carlisle and Esme had been working on a pretty large remodel project for several months, and had been hoping to have it done in time for the wedding. Unfortunately, their contractor wasn't the professional they thought he was and had been jerking them around really badly, until now apparently.

"Yup, yesterday. But now, they definitely won't be done in time for the wedding and have to make arrangements to move everything to the hotel." Alice got up and moved to the kitchen to refill her cup. I couldn't help noticing that she wouldn't look at me anymore.

"Carlisle's putting my aunt, uncle and grandparents up in a room. I'm trying to talk them into staying at the hotel too during the wedding so that they aren't so stressed. They've already moved the whole rehearsal dinner to the restaurant there. Fortunately the back room was still available."

I nodded. "Well that was lucky. At least there was still space for everyone this close to the date. Do they need help making any other arrangements?"

"No. I don't think so anyway." Alice turned to get the cream from the refrigerator.

I leaned over to set my mug on the coffee table.

With her head still inside the refrigerator, Alice quickly blurted out a series of words. I froze, arm still extended, my fingers having just released the mug's handle. I didn't understand everything she'd said, but I caught one word in that stream of gibberish that grabbed my undivided attention- _Edward_

My head slowly swiveled toward Alice as I silently worked to separate the words out one at a time.

_Surely she couldn't have said what I thought she'd said.__ Alice would never have agreed to that. Not here. Not with me here._

I still hadn't moved. Alice quietly closed the door to the refrigerator, poured the cream, and waited with her back to me, still stirring the coffee.

I gripped the edge of the coffee table to stop myself from falling over; I was still leaning far enough off the couch that it was a risk. "Alice I must have misunderstood you. What did you just say?"

Alice finally turned to face me and bit the corner of her lip before she repeated herself. "I told Esme that Edward could stay here in Rosalie's room since she's not using it."

I gaped at her. "Edward? Your brother, Edward? Here? With us?"

Alice nodded along slowly, her face twisted up, clearly bracing herself.

Still gaping, I couldn't take her continued nodding. "You're kidding, right?"

She stopped nodding and shook her head slowly.

I finally stood from the couch. "No. No fucking way. No fucking way is your brother going to stay here with me. We'll kill each other…or I'll kill him, or myself, or you, or all of us. No. No way. Can't happen Alice."

"I already told Esme he could. Actually Esme already told Edward."

My hands flailed wildly, "And Edward agreed to this? And why would Esme do that? Without asking us?" I was actually shrieking now.

Alice was still standing in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and cupping her coffee with both hands trying to remain calm, but her right toe was now tapping anxiously against the tile floor.

"Bella, he's family. She didn't mean to overstep. I guess she was just talking to him and thinking out loud about where everyone could stay and she threw it out there and he agreed. She's just under so much stress with the wedding. I'm sure he didn't want to upset her by arguing. And I'll talk to him. I'll make sure he'll be nice. Aside from a few holiday exceptions you haven't spent any time together in like years –"

"Yes, and in those few shining moments when we did see each other, he'd insult my political preferences, my choice of career, my style, and nearly assaulted my boyfriend! You're right, he's just _charming_!"

Alice looked as if she was just starting to show her anger, but I was already pacing frantically back and forth in the living room, my hands flailing about. Somewhere in the back of my mind I recognized how strange it was for me to be more worked up than Alice. I was forever telling _her_ to calm down.

"Bella, be reasonable. He's _my brother_. There's nowhere else for him to stay."

"A fucking hotel! That's what they're for! Right next to your Aunt and Uncle and Grandma! It's good enough for them! Why should Mister, wait excuse me, _Doctor _Hoity Toity be any different?! Oh that's right! Because he's Edward! And Edward is too good for a fucking hotel, like common folk. No, he needs _special_ accommodations."

"No Bella, it's just that he's coming sooner than just the weekend of the wedding, and it would cost a fortune for him to stay at the hotel for that long. I mean, it's like a hundred and fifty dollars a night and that would be like…." Alice drifted off again as she realized what she was saying.

I was glaring at her like she'd lost her mind. "He's supposed to be coming this weekend, right? You are _not _honestly suggesting that he stay here from then until the wedding. That's like…like" I was sputtering, trying to do the math, but my temper kept getting in the way of my brain functioning properly.

Alice swallowed. "He flies in on May thirtieth and the wedding is June twentieth; that's three weeks. It's not a big deal Bella. You were going to have to see each other to plan the retreat activities, and you're both in the wedding, you're practically already each other's dates. So you were going to see him all the time anyway. What's the problem?"

_Dates?_

_What's the problem?_

_Had she lost her damn mind?_

I stopped pacing and glared at Alice as I spoke through clenched teeth. "We are _not_ going as dates. He is a groomsman, I am a bridesmaid. There is a big difference. And what's the problem? The problem is we'll kill each other! I can't live with him… I… I… I just can't. No way. You have to figure something else out. Can't he stay at Emmett's?"

"At Emmett's? With the bride and groom? In their loft apartment? Seriously? You're being irrational. He's family. And under the circumstances, everyone has to help out."

_Yeah, okay, Emmett's probably won't work. Shit._

I huffed. "Let me think about it."

Alice chewed on her cheek. "There's really no point. Like I said, I already told Esme that he could stay here. So, unless you want to go to..." She finished with a shrug of her shoulders.

My head shot up. "You're saying I don't even get a vote? Either I move out or I have to live with _Edward_?"

Alice nodded then looked at the floor. "Or _you_ tell him he can't stay here. But I won't."

_Well fuck!_ _There it is._

_Edward's moving in, o__r I prove what a selfish bitch I am by telling him that he can't. _

I started pacing again. "No. No way. Tell him to rent an apartment or something."

With my last pass through the living room I kept on going to the bathroom.

I heard Alice start talking again as I flew past the kitchen. "Bella, I'm not telling him anything…" Alice's words were cut off by the slamming of the door. I quickly reached into the shower and turned it on

I sputtered to myself while I showered and tried to come up with any other possible options. Unfortunately, everything I came up with led to the same result: Me rebuking the idea of him staying with us. I didn't want to look like an ass, but Alice and Esme had clearly set up this whole arrangement so that there was no way for me to get around it without coming off as the bitch.

I fumed as I shampooed my hair. Then I stopped and froze as I remembered what Alice had said about Edward's conversation with Esme.

"_I guess she was just talking to him and thinking out loud about where everyone could stay and she threw it out there and he agreed."_

"He AGREED?" I was apparently talking to my body sponge.

That was just ridiculous; he had to feel the same way about this as I did. It wasn't as if he liked me any more than I liked him. We'd practically been at each other's throats for the past twenty years. Both of us- Not just me.

Of course he wasn't _all _bad. In fact, there were some definite positive points about Edward. He was beautiful; he'd been a cute kid and a handsome boy, but as a man he was just…beautiful. He was tall and muscular, but lean, a great athlete and very confident.

Then Edward would inevitably open his mouth and it would all be ruined. His confidence became cockiness, and his thoughtfulness turned condescending. I actually preferred to think of Edward as an arrogant, snobby know-it-all; it's easier since I know he thinks I'm a rude, shallow, naive, brat. But that's only because he always brings out the worst in me. It's like my brain would malfunction in his presence, sending any semblance of rational thought and speech right out the window. The brain malfunctioning could be attributed to him being beautiful, if I was being honest with myself, which I wasn't. It's a circular argument.

Whatever the cause, my ability to either speak intelligently or filter my thoughts was seriously compromised in his presence. Consequently, I would usually say something rude or embarrassing and Edward would laugh at me or take offense. It didn't matter what the factors to the equation were; the result was always the same; Edward and I could not get along. We were like oil and water.

It was worst in high school because we had a few friends in common; this was hard to avoid in a small town like Forks. I was skinny, awkward, clumsy, and uncoordinated. Consequently, I frequently and publicly made an ass out of myself whenever he was around and I got too nervous to walk, talk, or even think. He was also in my Biology class my junior year as the teacher's assistant. That sucked royally. Take a guy who thinks he knows everything and his shit doesn't stink and put him in a place of seniority. It was like he could read my mind and _always_ knew when to ask me the questions that I didn't know. And although he chose to deny it, I know I saw him smile frequently when I would get flustered.

I missed him, but it was a bittersweet relief when he finally graduated and I could spend my senior year in peace and quiet. Since then it had become less of a problem because I only saw him on Holidays. Most of the time we tried to stay cordial, but inevitably something would cause one or the other of us to lose our temper and history would repeat itself.

I smirked guiltily as I thought of how Alec might feel about Edward staying here. If Edward and I were oil and water, then Alec and Edward were bleach and ammonia – toxic. Alec could be a very controlling boyfriend. Actually the argument between Edward and Alec had been one of the first eye openers. At his insistence, I took him with me to the Cullen's New Year's Eve party that year. My first book had been released the previous year, but was suddenly gaining serious momentum and was climbing the charts and my second book was in negotiations.

Edward approached me to congratulate me on my success and Alec had completely flown off the deep end. He made a scene and started spouting off that Edward was flirting with me because of what I write. Edward jumped to my defense and the two of them were ready to come to blows in the middle of the party when I shoved Edward back and called him a hypocrite. Later that night Alec basically said that what I write makes me look easy; that I'm putting myself out there as an open invitation for all things depraved and obscene, and that's the only reason Edward had approached me at the party.

Alec's accusation had infuriated me; no one had _ever_ approached me in such a way or even suggested such a thing about my writing. However, his words struck a chord. My writing was very out of character for me and I can't deny that I'd had those same fears and concerns, even if they'd never been realized. What bothered me the most was his accusation about Edward. There was a time when Edward made a similar statement towards me. Admittedly what had happened had been partially due to a silly and immature game I'd been trying to play to get his attention. We'd both later regretted it, and he eventually apologized.

However, I couldn't deny that there actually was something different about how he'd approached me this time. He'd been nice; he didn't tease me, or criticize me; only congratulated me on my success. So obviously, he was _aware _of the book, and probably it's context, though I'm sure he'd never read it. Actually the image of Edward reading _Stealing Home_ made me giggle. So, yeah, there was a small seed of doubt that maybe Edward's congratulations had been a little less than genuine, but I tucked it away, because while we always fought and tormented one another, he'd always been protective of me.

I finished my shower, toweled off and wrapped myself in my robe. When I finally left the bathroom I found that Alice was already gone for the day. She had obviously decided to take the approach of time and space, knowing full well that I really had a hard time saying no to her. I subconsciously acknowledged that I really didn't have a say in the matter and consciously made the choice to put this on the back burner and try to focus on my writing for a while.

Two soap operas, a movie, and twelve games of solitaire later, it was late-afternoon and zero words had been written. I finally dialed the number for Brady's office and officially requested an extension. I received a lecture and a four month extension on the book. By the end of October I had to have ten completed chapters submitted to my publisher or I would be in jeopardy of breach of contract. That was only eight more chapters than I had completed in the previous six months.

I had just hung up with Brady when the phone started ringing almost immediately. I snatched it up and answered, convinced it was Brady again with one last word of warning.

"Yes Brady?"

"Bella? This is Esme, how are you dear?"

I sat up in the chair. "Oh! Sorry. I'm good Esme, how are you?"

"As well as a woman can be with her house torn to pieces and no contractor to put it back together I guess."

"Yeah, Alice told me. Sorry to hear about that. He was a real assho – uh, jerk, huh?"

"No, you were right the first time Bella, he was an asshole."

I had to laugh at Esme, the queen of prim and proper using that word.

"Listen Bella, I was calling to thank you for opening your home to Edward. I don't know what I would do without you girls. I obviously can't put him in a hotel for that long. But don't think that I don't realize the history you two have had. So, thank you dear, for doing this. It means the world to me and Carlisle. And don't you worry, he promised me that he would be on his best behavior while he's staying with you girls."

"Oh, umm…well I don't know if he will really like our place, it's pretty small. He might be better suited to find a temporary rental. He's probably not used to living with someone."

"No, no, he'll be fine dear. You know he's moving back here to be close to family, so I think he'll be very happy there. And I'll feel so much better knowing he'll have some good company since he won't be working for a few weeks yet."

I almost snorted out loud at me and Edward being 'good company'.

"Oh, well, I don't know how good of company I'll be, I've got a lot of writing to do…"

Esme interrupted with a tinkling laugh that sounded just like Alice. "I know dear, but don't you worry, my son is quite self sufficient and respectful of the needs of others to have time and space. You'll hardly know he's there. But I'm sure he'd enjoy hearing about your next book; he was really impressed by your first one."

I gulped. "He read it?"

"Well I doubt that he usually reads romance novels, but I know he read yours. You're family after all, we all read it."

"Oh God." I had grown accustomed to the idea of friends and family reading my book, but the idea of Edward reading my words, my thoughts, my sexy fantasies made me cringe. In fact, the only thing worse would be if Charlie had read it, something he swore he would never do.

"Dear relax; your writing is beautiful; you know I loved it."

"Thank you Esme."

"No thank you. Now, I'll let you get back to work. I understand you've got a deadline approaching and none of your fans want to be disappointed. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you girls get ready for Edward."

"Okay, will do. Oh, and by the way, I'm still working on the guest list, but I know you need a headcount soon. I'll get it to you as soon as I can."

"Oh, don't worry. I talked to Alice and she gave me some approximates. I'm investigating some options and I think we'll have a couple of good ones. If it's going to be less than the eight of you or more than sixteen, then let me know. Most places that I'm looking at can accommodate a range of group sizes."

"Can you give me some hints?"

"No no, you will all learn on Saturday. I'm having as much fun surprising you four as you will surprising Rose and Emmett."

"Okay, well thanks again for doing this. It's awful nice of you both."

"Our pleasure; it's a treat to see you all spending time together again. I better run, I'm late for a meeting. Bye dear."

"Bye."

I hung up the phone realizing I'd just been Esme'd. Esme had the uncanny ability to get what she wanted from people; anyone with a soul that is. She would bend you to her will using the three g's: Graciousness, gratitude and guilt. Once in a while we would meet someone who was able to withstand her power, but in that case it was only because they didn't have a heart or soul.

I sighed. "Damnit".

Another minute or two passed and the phone rang again. This time I had the presence of mind to check the caller ID; it was Alec. I hit ignore and put the phone down. I was so not in the mood for his opinion on this situation.

That evening I was sitting at the dining room table trying to fight the throbbing headache that had returned long enough to wrap up the article about the band I'd interviewed the day before. When I heard Alice's key in the door, I jumped up and moved to stand just inside it with my arms crossed so that Alice couldn't walk in the room without facing me.

"Hi Bella." Alice looked sheepish and dropped her eyes to the floor.

"You Esme'd me."

Alice's eyes shot up to meet mine. "I didn't, I swear!"

"You didn't ask her to call me?"

"No, I didn't. I didn't even tell her that you were upset. I never even talked to her at all today in fact."

"Yeah, like I'd believe that. You and Esme talk everyday."

Alice couldn't stop the small smile from creeping on her face as the meaning of my accusation sank in. "Esme called you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Would we be having this conversation if she hadn't?"

Alice let my sarcasm slide. "And you said yes?"

I sighed as I moved to sit back at the dining room table, allowing Alice safe passage. "You know how Esme works, she didn't give me a chance to say yes or no; it was all 'thank you' and 'you're so wonderful' and 'how can I help'. But, no, I didn't say no. Three weeks. We probably won't kill each other in three weeks. So, yeah, fine."

Alice mumbled, "It might be a little longer."

"What?" I growled.

"He's transferring to Seattle Grace for his residency. He hasn't had time to find a place yet. Depending how long that takes, it might be a little longer."

"You _can_'t be serious?! Why didn't you tell me that this morning?!" I shrieked.

Then Esme's words sank in. "You know he's moving back here to be close to family...._" _

"You know Bella, I was put in a tight spot, one very similar to the one you were put in today. Esme did this, not me; and you didn't tell her no either, did you?"

I glared at Alice with no intention of answering so Alice continued.

"Well if this whole thing pisses you off so much then tell her. You tell Esme that you don't want him to stay here. Don't take this out on me if you aren't willing to tell her no either. But you won't will you? And you know why? Because you know as well as I do that it's the right thing to do. Be pissy all you want, but we don't really have any other options do we?"

"Don't talk to me about the right thing to do, you manipulative bitch! On what planet is tricking me into this the _right thing to do?"_

I didn't wait for her to respond because apparently my rising blood pressure had caused my headache to reach new levels. I winced as I walked to my bedroom and slammed the door.

I awoke Wednesday morning and lay in bed for nearly an hour while I waited for the nausea to pass. I thought over the events of the previous day and my fight with Alice and the phone call from Esme.

_Edward's coming. _

A good night's sleep had brought, surprisingly, acceptance. I can't change the fact that he's coming. Well, I could, but I knew I wouldn't. Rationally, I knew that Alice and Esme were both right. It was the right thing to do.

_Edward's coming. _

_He's going to be staying right here. One tiny little wall will be separating his room and mine. _

Focusing on what I could do to make myself more comfortable with this arrangement was my only option. The townhouse was too small for him to completely avoid being in my space. The bedrooms were all upstairs; when you reach the top of the stairs you go right to Alice's room, turn left and the first door is my room. Across from it and a little further is Rosalie's room, and at the end of the hall is the bathroom. This means that Edward has to walk past my room every time he goes to his. I sat up to look around at my room as he would see it, the fresh perspective shocked me.

_When did I turn into such a...slob?_

The laundry hamper overflowing with dirty clothes; my dresser was scattered with jewelry, two empty glasses, tissues, hair accessories, concert tickets, and a thick layer of dust. My closet doors hung open, shoes were thrown into a random pile on the bottom, and were topped off by an article of clothing that had apparently fallen off a hanger.

Aside from the noticeable void where my laptop would normally sit, my desk was so covered with books and papers that it was actually easier to carry the laptop to the dining room table when I was trying to work than it was to work around all the piles of crap. Next to the desk was an overflowing trash can that should have been emptied weeks ago; wadded up papers were scattered on the floor around it .

_Wow. How did I let it get this bad and not notice?_

I finally stood up from my bed and looked at myself in the full length mirror on the back of my door. There was problem number two. I could not walk out of my bedroom and see Edward looking like this. The wild bed head was one thing; but the pajama situation was completely unacceptable.

What were once cute pajamas had degraded into an out of shape tank top with bleach stains that had essentially eaten through the threadbare fabric. I could almost see my nipple through one hole. The matching capri pants with overstretched elastic waistband hung off my hips, a piece of lace trim dangled from one cuff, and a couple of bleach stain-holes matched the top.

Knowing that the rest of my pajamas looked about the same, I thought about asking Alice to pick some up for me, but decided against it. Some things just needed hands-on attention. Thinking of Alice caused me to realize that in the time I'd been surveying my pajamas and the shithole that I called a bedroom, I'd not heard a sound coming from outside my room.

I shuffled downstairs to the kitchen for coffee but was disappointed to find an empty pot. Alice was an early riser and usually made the coffee in the morning. Even when she stayed at Jasper's, she would come home to get ready for work. If she didn't she'd set it up the night before and set the timer.

I got out the coffee and filters and measured them out into the basket. As I filled the carafe at the sink I realized that everything from the day before was exactly where I'd left it, then I frowned guiltily when I realized how accustomed I'd grown to Alice straightening up after me.

That's when I noticed the scrap of onion skin on top of the keyboard of my laptop. Though the onion skin paper was rarely seen outside her bedroom or office, I knew it was the paper Alice used to trace, retrace and layer over her designs while she fiddled with changes and re-draws. After I poured the water in the coffee maker and turned it on, I walked to the dining room table and picked it up. In one of Alice's red fabric pencils she'd scribbled a note. The jagged angle and hurried penmanship made it apparent that the note was drafted in a moment of anger.

_**Bella,**_

_**I'm going to stay at Jasper's for a couple of days. I'll see you on Friday at the dress fittings. Rose is coming over after to pack up her room and help get ready for Edward's arrival. And YES he is staying here unless **__**YOU**__** want to tell them otherwise.**_

_**I know something is going on with you lately, but I don't know what it is and apparently you don't want to tell me. I'm sick of you taking it out on me. See a doctor, quit your book, whatever, but either talk to me so I can understand, or fix whatever has you in such a shitty mood lately. And for the love of God, DO YOUR DISHES BEFORE I GET HOME!**_

_**Alice**_

I wadded up the note and walked past the stack of dirty dishes to throw it in the trash. I got a bowl of cereal, a cup of coffee, took some Motrin and flopped down on the couch for some daytime TV.

Two hours later I couldn't stand myself any longer and took a shower. In the shower I thought about my friend and realized that Alice really didn't have any more of a choice about this than I did. I felt horrible for calling her a manipulative bitch, but decided against calling to apologize. Obviously she wanted time and space, so I made a new plan.

I spent the afternoon washing all of my dishes, cleaning out the refrigerator, and the rest of the kitchen while changing loads of laundry. I cleaned my room, the bathrooms, the living room and all the windows. By the time I'd finished vacuuming the townhouse it was time for dinner. I had another pounding headache and no energy left so I called for Chinese delivery and laid down on the sofa to wait for it.

Some time later I was jolted awake by a knock on the door. I twitched and grabbed my head, gasping in pain. It was pounding so badly with each beat of my heart that I could hardly move. I managed to stumble to the door and wrenched it open. Standing there was a delivery boy with my dinner. He started at my appearance.

"Miss? Are you alright?"

I managed a weak nod and muttered. "Migraine."

"Oh. Okay. Well it will be $8.75." He paused and looked at me with obvious concern, "Would you like me to call someone? You don't look very good."

I shoved a ten dollar bill in his hand, grabbed the bag, and shut the door, leaning against it as the world spun around me and I almost fell. Sliding down the door to the floor, I took deep breaths and leaned my forehead on my knees. My stomach rolled and when I looked up my vision was blurry and swimming. I shoved off the door and stumbled to the kitchen sink, just barely making it in time to revisit my lunch. Turning on the cold water, I splashed some water over my face and rinsed my mouth while I rinsed out the sink. Once I decided that I had the strength and was steady again I started trudging up the stairs towards my bedroom. With each step I took I could feel the energy being drained from my body, nearly crawling up the final few steps.

Holding onto the railing, I pulled myself upright and was rounding the corner to my bedroom when the world twisted around me and I suddenly felt like I was spinning and falling. My stomach clenched again and I doubled over. Barely restraining the torrent of vomit from jet streaming up my throat again, I used the last of my energy to push my legs towards the bathroom and dove towards the toilet, somewhat missing it, but not entirely.

_Fuck...ewww. I missed. Oh God._

I don't know how long I leaned over the toilet while I retched and my stomach clenched in spasms, but when it finally stopped, the pounding in my head had reached staggering new heights. I slumped to the side of toilet, aware that I was only inches from the mess on the floor, but was so overwhelmed by the pain in my head I wasn't able to move or even care to reach for a towel to clean up the mess. I pressed the side of my face to the linoleum and tried to focus on the front of the toilet, the wall, or the cabinet, but I couldn't make my vision clear or focus. The blurry, double vision swam in front of me and I was suddenly hit with a cold fear that something was very seriously wrong with me. I tried again to push myself off the floor, but it was like trying to steer a car after it's been shut off; my body was no longer listening to my instructions.

At some point during the night I awoke shivering and my entire body ached like I'd been hit by a truck. My clothing was damp from perspiration and I had been lying next to a cold air vent. I tried to push myself upright, but just moving my arms felt like a hundred pounds of weight. I was too weak and unsteady to stand, so I crawled to my bed. Half way to my room I gagged when I felt the stickiness on my arm and carefully pulled the sweatshirt over my head so as not to touch the sleeve that had apparently fallen into the pile of puke.

_Gross._

I dragged back the covers, and was about to curl into bed when I noticed that my pajama pants were soaked. As I removed them I realized that I'd apparently lost control of my bladder. For the second time tonight, my brain slowly started to recognize the seriousness of my situation.

_I need to call someone__. I need to find some help. _

Tears started to slide down my cheeks.

I struggled to string two thoughts together, but eventually I remembered that my cell phone was still sitting on the breakfast bar downstairs. I knew I wouldn't be able to make it back down the stairs without falling. Unfortunately, my body and mind were at war with one another and as I was gripped in fear, silently screaming not to go to sleep, the part of my brain controlling my body had gone on autopilot and I was curling into a ball under the covers.

_I'm alone. Could I be dying?_

I knew that I needed to fight this crushing fatigue; that I might never wake up if I didn't. But my body took over, shaking, cold, and scared I drifted into the blackness.

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**A/N**

**We've been fielding a lot of questions about Bella and pregnancy. We will neither confirm nor deny this theory- you'll have to keep reading! We promise, you'll know one way or the other sooner rather than later. **

**You can now follow Twinnesse on twitter, as well as catch future chapter teasers on The Fictionators blog. **

**_What is your tried and true headache remedy? Review and share!_**

**Thanks again for the continued support, reviews, faves and alerts…**

**Love,**

**S32 & TG**

**PS. A small note from Slutch32: Today is TwirlGrrl's birthday! And she has been just the most awesomeest of friends and partners in this. The best of gifts would be your reviews, so please, hit that button, give us your feedback and wish her an awesome birthday!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:**

**You have questions, and we want to answer them, so no long preamble here.**

**Undying love for Aruni, and our Red Pen Goddesses, Maylin and AzureEyed1. And also for the beautiful, talented, and supportive inhabitants of UUtopia- MWAH!**

**Songs for Chapter 4:**

**"Ear, Nose, and Throat" – Troubled Hubble**

**See you at the bottom!**

**Rated M for language and possible future, well, you know. If you're not old enough to buy mature rated materials, you shouldn't be reading this (and your parents should install Net Nanny.)**

**Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight, _obviously._**

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**Bella**

When I next awoke, I blinked several times before trying to focus on my alarm clock. My vision was a little blurry and noticeably darker around the edges, but eventually I made out the numbers to see that they read two fifteen in the afternoon. My head throbbed, but it was more tolerable; my muscles all ached like I'd just been through my first day of boot camp.

I sat up and was confused by the small pile of my pajama pants and underwear on the floor next to my bed. As I struggled to remember why they were there I realized that I didn't remember going to bed at all last night. I thought for a moment about what I could remember; cleaning the kitchen, bathroom, and living room. My headache had come back and when I was hungry I'd called for Chinese take-out and laid down on the couch to wait for the delivery.

After several minutes I concluded that I had no memory of getting up and moving to my bedroom. When I picked up the pajama pants they were damp; that was weird. I found a new pair and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. That's when I found the mess on the bathroom floor and had a vague memory of retching over the toilet while my head thundered violently. I quickly cleaned up the small dried mess, and while brushing my teeth, I also discovered that my sleeve was caked in something dry and crusty. I changed into a fresh hoodie, balled it up with the pajama pants, and slowly carried them downstairs to the laundry. Once they were dealt with I shuffled slowly to the kitchen where I found some crackers. I considered making coffee, but my churning stomach told me that tea may be a better idea today. While I was waiting for it I checked my cell; one missed call. I started to call the voicemail but my tea dinged so I snapped the phone shut; I'd check it later.

On my way to the living room with my crackers and tea I found the unopened bag of Chinese food lying on the floor next to the front door. I checked the door and found it dead bolted and then I set the bag on the kitchen table. As I curled into a ball in the corner of the sofa to nibble on my crackers, I frowned again at the bag of food on the table. Not remembering moving to my bed was strange, but forgetting the delivery guy and the abandoned food was a little concerning.

The living room was comfortably darkened by the gray overcast skies of another rainy Seattle day. Hoping for a distraction I flipped on the television and then turned it back off again. The light from the screen hurt my eyes and caused the throbbing in my head to pound harder. With a groan I shoved off the couch again, found a fresh washcloth and soaked it in lukewarm water. I slowly trudged back up the stairs; returning to bed I quickly fell asleep again.

My clock said that it was a little before seven o'clock when I next awoke. The eastern sunlight told me it was morning. I felt almost…normal. My head didn't hurt and my vision was clear. After a moment of concentration I concluded that it had to be Friday. I decided that I must have had a really bad migraine and slept through most of Thursday. With the blurry vision, the vague recollection of vomiting, and the way my head hurt, it was the only thing I could think of. I said a prayer of thanks and sympathy for all of the women that had to deal with migraines on a regular basis. That was one experience I didn't wish to repeat again anytime soon.

After making coffee and cereal, and washing all of my dishes, I checked my calendar. I didn't expect to find anything since my article was finished and not due until Monday. With the extension on the book, there wasn't much else pressing in my life these days, other than Edward's arrival. Then I saw the little note under the heading for Friday the 29th - the dress fittings. I'd almost forgotten.

Sometime during the last three days I'd formulated a plan to win Alice back over. It started with a giant sized apology for being so difficult to live with lately, and then graciously accepting the forthcoming presence of her brother in our home. I would do so with grace and dignity and… a dinner party.

I spent the morning finishing up my housework from the other day, shopping for new pajamas, and at one forty-five I was waiting for Alice outside the bridal boutique where our dresses had been ordered.

I spotted Alice's Mini Cooper drive by and knew she was parking in the lot around the corner, so I walked in that direction to intersect with her. When Alice came around the corner and spotted me she slowed her pace.

I smiled, "Hey."

"Hey yourself." Alice smiled back, albeit cautiously.

I turned back in the direction of the shop and hooked my arm through Alice's. "So, I've been a real moody, lazy, bitch lately haven't I?"

Alice nodded. "You have."

"Well if I were you I'd pack up and move out if I had to put up with me."

Alice smirked. "I've considered it."

I stopped and held onto Alice's arm, turning her gently. "Alice look, I'm really sorry. You're right, I've been struggling. It's not your fault, and I didn't mean to take it out on you. I hadn't realized how bad I'd gotten until the last couple of days."

Alice nodded. "Do you want to tell me what is going on? You know I'd do anything I could to help, but if you don't tell me…" She let her words trail off and shrugged lightly.

I felt a little silly. "There's not much to tell. I was supposed to have 10 chapters finished by the end of this month, which is Saturday. I've only written two, and basically, they suck. But I finally asked Brady on Monday for an extension on my book. I've got an extra four months now. I guess I hadn't realized how badly I'd let it affect me. I'm getting stress headaches and even had a migraine the last two days. But that's no excuse to be such a lousy friend and roommate."

Alice frowned. "That's it? You think these are stress headaches? Bella, you've been nauseous, moody, exhausted, irritable, and these stress headaches have been happening every day. Do you have any _idea _how much Motrin you've been taking lately?"

"You've been keeping track?" I batted down the urge to get a little angry and defensive at her snooping.

"It's hard to miss when you never put them away afterwards. But, yeah, that bottle has 500 tablets in it; I bought it at Costco not quite two months ago thinking it would last a year or more and it's almost gone. Bella, that's a lot of fucking Motrin; it's amazing you don't have an ulcer by now."

I wrinkled up my nose at what she said. That really was a lot. I hadn't realized I was taking that much.

Alice put her hand on my arm. "Did you call the doctor?"

I shook my head. "No, but I did clean. If Edward's staying with us, he might as well have a clean place to stay." I offered a smile.

She grinned at me. "Thank you, but don't change the subject. You need to see a doctor. You had a migraine?"

I nodded and chewed on my lip. Alice pursed her lip in return and arched her eyebrows. I knew this face, this was the 'you know I'm right, and I'm not going to give up face'.

After a brief stare down, I rolled my eyes. "I'll call your doctor today. As soon as we're done here."

"As a new patient, it'll take a couple of months to get in. Unless there's something more pressing that needs to be seen immediately, like if you're pregnant."

I shrugged. "There's nothing urgent. I'll wait for the first available."

Alice squinted at me. "Nope. Not good enough. With as much Motrin as you've been taking, and now a migraine, you can't wait Bella; it could be something serious. You should go to an urgent care."

I shook my head. "Alice, I'm an adult. I think I know when its urgent and when it can wait. If I get another migraine, I'll go."

Alice shrugged her shoulders and gave me a quick smile before glancing towards the store. "Okay fine, if you insist. But I just might mention it to Carlisle tomorrow during dinner. I'm sure he'll be interested in how much Motrin you've been taking too."

I gawked at her. Carlisle stitching up a random injury was one thing, but she knew I wouldn't want to talk about this with Carlisle, and absolutely not with Edward there. There would obviously be questions like 'when was your last menstrual period'. Unfortunately, there's not a simple answer to that since I've never been regular, so that would inevitably lead to another embarrassing question. Just the _idea_ of Carlisle asking me if I was sexually active while Edward passed the salad made me squirm.

"You wouldn't dare."

Alice gave me a variation of the 'you know I'm right face' with only one arched eyebrow now, which made it the 'try me' face.

"Bella, either you go to urgent care between now and dinner tomorrow night or I'm laying it all out on the table in front of Carlisle, Edward and God. Your choice."

I rolled my eyes and growled out "Fine".

Alice's face immediately switched to beaming victory. She even bounced a little before quickly changing the topic. "So Edward can stay with us?"

I couldn't resist smiling at her happiness, even if her victory was my loss; it was only out of concern. We turned back towards the dress shop. "Of course Edward can stay with us; I don't know why I got so pissy about it honestly."

Alice glanced at me out of the corner of her eye and her enthusiasm dimmed a bit. "Really, you're not just saying that. Because I thought about it and it was wrong of me to agree without talking to you about it first. I shouldn't have assumed; especially with your history. I can tell Esme that this is just not a good time to – "

I cut her off with a wave of my hand. "No. I'm fine. With the extension on the book, now I can relax. I'm going to focus on the wedding and finding a new place in the next couple of weeks. After that I'll hunker down and write my heart out without distraction."

"You're going to become one of those solitary authors now?"

I nodded. "Yup, I'm going to find a house in the woods and wear wool sweaters and flannel with Ugg boots and mittens and drink tea. Hell I might even trade in the Mac Book for an old-fashioned Swinger typewriter."

Alice groaned at the visual.

I grinned, knowing how much it would bug her then squeezed her arm. "Listen, about tomorrow, I know its short notice, but instead of doing dinner at the hotel, let's do it at our place; sort of a home coming for him."

"Oh, that's a great idea! So, you're really okay with it?" She was bouncing again. Alice couldn't cook to save her life, but she sure liked to entertain.

"Yeah, I'm okay, but if he says so much as one critical word about my writing, or my taste in music, TV, or any other form of entertainment, I'll take it out on you."

"Okay."

"And I'm not cooking for him after tomorrow."

"Wouldn't expect you to."

"And he sure as shit better put the seat down."

"Bella, he's not Alec, we were raised by the same mother. And I wouldn't start picking fights about cleaning up after yourself if I were you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Let's just say that I take after Edward when it comes to keeping house, and you and I do okay, but I doubt that Edward's as patient as I am, or as willing to hang up your coat, bag and keys every single day like I do."

"Oh. Well, he better not mess with my coffee."

"You're nitpicking. Stop looking for reasons to hate him."

"I don't have to look. I'll remember as soon as we spend five minutes in the same room."

Our conversation was cut off by the rumbling of a Harley Davidson Sportster pulling up to park along the side of the street. The engine cut off and it leaned onto the kickstand. The driver pulled off the black helmet with reflective face shield and shook out the long blond curls that were tucked up underneath. Rosalie turned to me and Alice with a wide grin. "Hey Bitches!"

I couldn't stop laughing. Only Rose would show up to be fitted in her wedding gown wearing black leather and riding a motorcycle. Alice, however, was less impressed.

"Rosalie Hale if you wipe out on that thing the road rash will be a beautiful accessory to your dress."

Rose just rolled her eyes as she stretched one long denim clad leg over the side of the bike and sidled up to us on the sidewalk. "Alice I haven't wiped out yet, and don't plan on it any time soon, but if I do, you're welcome to say I told you so."

We all made our way into the dress shop where Esme was already waiting for us. Rosalie was immediately escorted to a fitting room to try on her dress for one last fitting while the rest of us waited and discussed the dinner plans for the following evening. I was just promising to call Esme once I had the menu planned so I could tell her what she could bring when Rosalie stepped out.

The transformation from Biker Bitch Extraordinaire to Cinderella was breathtaking. She was all softness and curves in a stunning, yet simple, white satin gown. It was floor length with a gently sweeping train of soft stacked layers that angled up the front. The sweeping neckline tapered to spaghetti straps and then fell loose and low again in the back, scooping down almost to the small of her back. It was sexy and beautiful and romantic and something that only a statuesque and curvy Rosalie could pull off.

Alice and Esme oohed and aahed and told her she looked stunning. I noticed that she was nervously fingering the soft satin in the scooped neck while Linda, the seamstress, measured and checked the fit. She was finishing the bustling in the back when I caught Rosalie's eye in the mirror. There was a flicker of uncertainty.

I suggested that Esme and Alice should go ahead and change, hoping to catch a moment with Rosalie alone. When they were gone and it was just Rose, Linda, and me I walked up and stood next to her in the mirror.

"What's wrong Rose?

She was chewing on the corner of her lip and when her eyes met mine they were watery.

I turned to Linda who was on her knees behind Rosalie. "Linda, could you give us a second please?"

She nodded quickly and hurried out of the room. I found Rose a box of tissues between the chairs and handed one to her so she could dab at her eyes.

"What's up? Don't you like it? There's still time to make changes if you need to, but you need to say something."

Rosalie took a deep breath. "I like it. I love it actually. It's just so… _not me_."

"What do you mean it's not you? It's stunning and you love it, so how is it not you?"

Rose sighed. "Bella, I'm leather and denim; like what I walked in here in. This? I might as well be standing here naked. That's how it feels."

"Rosalie, you've been in magazines, centerfolds in fact, in little more than dental floss. This feels naked? I'm not following."

"I'm not speaking literally. I picked this out for me, and for Emmett. But now I realize that I have to walk down that aisle in front of _everyone_. That scares the hell out of me."

"What about it scares you exactly?"

"It's so…soft, and simple, and…ugh. I don't know." Rose shook her head quickly.

"It's feminine."

"Yeah! It's feminine."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"Well, no. I am female for fucks sake. But most people don't look at me that way, not people that know me anyway. I'm Rosalie Hale, someone not to be fucked with. But with Emmett…" Rose looked back at the dress and smiled. "I'm this."

"Rose, that's why _this_ dress is perfect. This is all about just you and Emmett. It's a celebration of you and Emmett. It's not about how everyone else sees you and Emmett. It's how you see each other. If you were marrying someone else, or it was a debutante ball, well then maybe you'd wear that." I pointed at a stiff, corseted, heavily beaded, dress with a wide skirt, gloves and veil. "But when you walk down that aisle, you'll only be looking at Emmett, and he'll only be looking at you. Nothing else matters. You should wear exactly what represents how you feel with him. If that's this dress, then this is it. If its not, well then, we better bust ass, because we've only got three weeks to find it."

Rose smiled at her reflection in the mirror. "No. You're right; it is this dress; its exactly this dress. That's exactly why I'm marrying him, because he sees this in me and no one else does."

"You're sure?"

Rosalie nodded. "Yes. I'm sure. He deserves this."

I squeezed her hand. "And you deserve someone that sees you this way."

"Thanks Bitch." Ah, Rosalie was back and girl time was over.

I called Linda back in and she finished the bustle.

Esme and Alice were fitted. Esme's dress was a beautiful emerald green strapless with some intricate beading and a chiffon wrap. Alice and I were both in red, but of different styles. The pragmatic Rosalie insisted that we choose a style of our liking so that we could hopefully make use of it again. Alice's dress was a strapless corset top with gathered chiffon waist and floor length skirt. The dress needed about three feet of fabric cut off the bottom and the whole hem line was going to be altered.

When it was my turn I slipped into the fitting room and pulled my dress over my shoulders. It had a low back with a halter tie. I fumbled with the zipper in the back, but couldn't quite get it to work, so I held it closed at my waist and stepped out to the other room and allowed Linda to zip it for me.

I was spun, turned, and tugged at. As these dresses go, you don't just buy a two, four, six, eight, or ten. You are measured in several places and the dresses are ordered to fit the largest of your measurements, with the assumption that alterations will be made accordingly. I didn't realize what this meant while I'd been watching Alice, because her dress was a perfect fit, with the exception of the length. But apparently, my dress was ordered for my bust size, because according to Linda it needed to be taken in at the waist, hips, and just a touch in the length to get it to sweep the floor. I was just about to step down to change when Rosalie stopped me.

"Whoa there girl. Is that all you're taking off the length?" Rose had one hand on her hip and the other was pointing at my feet.

I looked down at the hem of the dress where it was sweeping the floor. "Um, yes? It is a floor length gown Rose."

She shook her head. "Yeah, I'm going to have to pull a Bridezilla and veto that shit."

_Huh?_

Rose had been pretty relaxed throughout the planning of this wedding, much to Alice's dismay, who'd insisted that she wasn't taking it seriously enough.

"Why? It's the same length as Alice's."

Rose nodded. "Uh huh, and Alice spends every day in heels, whereas you spend your days in hiking boots or running shoes. I'm just supposed to have faith that you'll make it down the aisle in heels _and_ a floor length gown? No fucking way- _Sorry Esme_. You don't leave a candle burning in a barn Bella; some things are just a recipe for disaster. Linda, you need to alter the shit out of that."

I gaped at Rosalie and then looked to Alice for help, but she just shook her head. "I'm with Rose on this one. Better to be safe than sorry; it's as much for your benefit as hers. You don't want to go ass over teakettle in front of everyone. Besides, Bella, you've got killer legs, you should show them off."

I glanced at Esme, hoping she would help me out, but she just sat quietly pretending to read a magazine with her lips pinched together. I'm pretty sure she was trying not to laugh.

I rolled my eyes and sighed, giving in. "Fine, whatever. Linda, do your worst."

Linda and Alice started pulling and tugging at the skirt. I heard words like asymmetrical, gathering, bunching, underlayers, and fabric allowances. Then Linda was talking to me again. "Okay, we'll start at just about your left knee and angle down to about mid-calf on the right. What do you think Bella?"

I looked at Rosalie. "Do _you_ approve Bridezilla?"

She nodded. "It's awesome. It's definitely safer, but Alice is right, it does show off your legs."

"Okay then, if you all think it's the way to go, cut away Linda."

When she was finished I changed back into my street clothes and we said our goodbyes to Esme.

Alice handed me a slip of paper. "While you were changing I looked up an urgent care center nearby. Here's the address and phone number. They said it shouldn't be more than a few minutes to be seen."

"You are a persistent little thing aren't you."

Alice shrugged. "Rose and I will meet you at home."

I smirked "What? You mean you aren't going to come with me and make sure I tell the doctor about every hangnail and papercut?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "Don't tempt me- I will if I have to. I'll expect to see some form of proof that you were seen, young lady."

I started walking away down the sidewalk and shot over my shoulder "Whatever, Napoleanna. Bridezilla, try to slip a Xanax in her chi latte please, won't you?"

I strolled to my car with a smile on my face. I may be going to the doctor, but at least Alice and I were on good terms again.

When I opened the door to the urgent care however, my good mood faltered. I signed in and did a quick head count, there were thirteen people waiting in the lobby. I ran back out to my car to get my messenger bag. I figured I could at least work on the menu while I was waiting.

Ninety minutes later, a completed menu, started grocery and beverage lists, I was still waiting to be seen. I ignored another call from Alec and decided I would call him on my way home. I'd been dodging his calls for enough days that he'd likely start to worry. I started flipping through magazines and stumbled on an article I'd written a few months back.

Another hour later, after I'd surely been exposed to the Bubonic Plague by the coughing toddler three seats down from me, and had thoroughly dissected and critiqued my article and kicked myself for ever turning in such half-assed writing, I was finally called back to see the doctor.

The nurse told me to remove my shoes and checked my weight; I hadn't realized that I'd lost over ten pounds. She checked my blood pressure, temperature and pulse, making note of each on the chart. Without looking up she asked, "what are you being seen for today?"

"I've been having a lot of headaches, dizziness, some nausea, fatigue, a terrible migraine, and generally rundown."

"Do you have a headache now?"

"A small one."

"Any fevers?"

"Maybe, not high, I've had the chills a few times."

"Last menstrual period?"

"Its been a couple of months, but I'm never regular."

"Could you be pregnant?"

"No."

She looked at me over the top of her glasses, not amused. "What do you use for birth control?"

"I went off the pill six months ago, but I'm sure I'm not pregnant."

We locked eyes for a minute; a mini stare down. She was obviously looking for any signs of uncertainty and when she didn't find any she continued with the questions.

"Any drug allergies?"

"Nope."

She made a note and said. "Dr. Banner will be in shortly." She never once cracked a smile.

Some time later a loud, quick knock on the door woke me. I'd apparently dozed off from boredom. "Hi there Ms., " he paused to check the chart, "Swan. How are you feeling today?"

Why would he bother asking? I've been waiting here for hours, obviously I'm not feeling good. "Um, well, I guess I haven't been feeling well. I've been really tired, sleeping a lot, and having a lot of headaches, sometimes pretty intense. My roommate pointed out how much Motrin I've been taking, and I decided it was time to get it checked out. I've also had some dizzy spells."

"Any fever?"

"Not that I've noticed, but I've had the chills a few times. Oh, and some blurry vision. Most recently- the last few days, it was intense, the headache was excruciating; I was dizzy, and basically stayed in bed. The light hurt and I know I vomited at least once, but a lot of it is a blur."

"How long did that episode last?"

"Wednesday night through Friday morning."

"And overall, the headaches, run-down feeling, for how long?"

"A couple of months maybe."

"Do you get migraines?"

"Not before this, and I would prefer not to do that again, if I can avoid it."

He nods. "Well lets take a look."

He looks at my ears, my nose, checks my throat, and feels my glands.

"Have you had any colds or flu bugs in the past few months?"

I nodded. "Yeah, probably in late March sometime, I had a cold for about a week; run of the mill, fever for a few days, congestion, sore throat, pretty standard."

"Well, you've got some fluid in your ears and some signs of post-nasal drip and your glands are a little swollen."

He pressed on my forehead and cheekbones with his thumbs. "Any pressure or pain here?"

I nodded. "Pressure; it's a little uncomfortable."

"I think you've been dealing with acute sinusitis, probably residual effects of the cold in March hanging on in there. The inflammation, swelling and pressure in the head is likely the source of the dizziness and headaches, you've probably got some fluid pressing on the inner ear. Over time, if gone untreated it can turn into a chronic sinusitis and the symptoms can be pretty severe, like you've been experiencing."

"And the fatigue? Sometimes I'll sleep for twelve to eighteen hours without intending to."

He nods. "Its all part of the body's defense mechanism; trying to fight off an infection. A course of antibiotics should do the trick. I'm going to write you a script for a course of Amoxicillin; take it three times a day. I'm also going to put you on a ten day course of steroids. The prednisone I'm prescribing can cause some anxiety, edginess, and insomnia. If the insomnia gets to be too much of a problem, give us a call and I can prescribe some Ambien. You might also want to pick up an over the counter decongestant to help relieve some of the pressure and stick with the Motrin; it's a good anti-inflammatory. If you're not feeling better in a few days come on back in."

"So, it's a sinus infection?"

He nods. "Yep. Easy to overlook, but untreated can wreak havoc on the body."

"Huh." Overwhelming relief swept over me at the simplicity of the diagnosis. It wasn't until that point that I'd really recognized how concerned I'd become that something was seriously wrong with me.

I happily took the prescription and paid my fifty dollar co-pay. As far as I was concerned it was fifty dollars worth of peace of mind and a promise of brighter days in the near future. It was almost eight o'clock by the time I was heading home. Eight o'clock on a Friday night; I likely wouldn't reach Alec right now. I dialed his number and breathed a sigh of relief when his voicemail picked up. I left a quick message that I'd been ill for a few days and sorry I missed his calls and then quickly hung up.

By the time I'd returned home, Alice and Rosalie were there waiting for me with take-out Chinese and a bottle of wine. I wondered idly if the same guy had delivered, and whether I would have recognized him. My stomach was grumbling and I dug into the food while they finished up packing Rosalie's room. That was the upside of being stuck in the urgent care for hours on end; I missed out on most of the hard work here.

I carried my plate and glass in and sat down at Rosalie's desk. Alice of course pounced immediately.

"So? What's the word?"

"Sinus infection." I mumbled around a mouthful of chicken and vegetables.

"Sinus infection? That's it?"

I nodded and kept chewing.

"So now what?"

"Got an antibiotic and some steroids. I dropped it off on my way home. I'll run out and pick it up in a bit.

"Did they run any tests at all? You were there forever."

I shook my head and shrugged. "Hello? Urgent Care, come one come all. They told you I shouldn't have to wait more than a few minutes. My ass, more like a few hours. No, no tests. He just looked in my ears. It makes sense, though, the headaches and dizziness, it's all from the pressure."

Alice threw her hands in the air and shrieked. "Did they even run a preganancy test?"

I kung-pow coughed. "No. Why would they?"

"Well some antibiotics could be dangerous if you were possibly pregnant. How do they know you're not?"

"Because they asked me and I told them it was impossible."

Alice squinted at me. "Impossible?"

"Yes. Impossible."

And then Alice's face fell. Hell, her whole body slackened. "Oh."

My eyes just about bulged out of my head. "Holy shit! You thought I was pregnant!"

She cringed and closed one eye, peeking at me with the other. "Well," she huffed. "you've been one moody bitch Bella, and the nausea and headaches. And you and Alec are - hell one morning you got up and started eating saltine crackers! That practically spells pregnant!"

"God Alice, give me some credit, will you."

"I'm sorry! I'm not the doctor in the family, okay? I went with what I knew."

"Yeah, well, stick to fashion, and not maternity clothes."

Rosalie mumbled something but Alice and I couldn't understand her. "What?" We spoke together.

Rosalie sighed. "I said, not yet anyway. Nobody's married and nobody's pregnant. Yet." Then she turned around and carried a box out to the front door, effectively ending the conversation.

Alice and I exchanged a meaningful look. Alice wagged her eyebrows. "Somebody's got big plans for the honeymoon."

We both giggled.

Rose came back in, dusted off her hands and looked around the room. "Well bitches, I think I'm officially moved out. What time is my replacement flying in tomorrow?"

Alice checked the itinerary sitting on the counter. "Um, he flies into SeaTac at 2:30; we'll probably be back here by around 3:30. So why don't we have Carlisle and Esme meet us here then, and we can have our little meeting and then Rose, you and Em come around 5:30. Bella, can you plan dinner for 6:00?"

"Sure, I was thinking shish kebobs. Alice, will you call Carlisle and Esme. Ask him if he'll run the grill, and tell Esme she can bring desert." I make a mean marinade. It may not be caviar, but it should still impress him.

Alice started dialing numbers on her cell to call Carlisle and Esme and then skipped out the patio for, as she put it, better reception. More likely she needed to tell Esme that I wasn't, in fact, pregnant.

Rosalie tapped my leg. "I'll bring a salad. Anything else?"

I shook my head. "I'm going to ask Alice to make her Risotto." Rosalie smiled and nodded. We both knew it was the only thing Alice knew how to cook. It came from a box, but she seasoned it well.

"So Bella, are you really okay with this whole thing, Edward staying here and all? I know how he gets under your skin and Alice told me how she blindsided you with it. You could probably milk this for a few months at least, and probably get a new pair of Manolo Blahniks out of it."

I stretched. "Manolo Who-niks? And, no, I'm not going to milk this for anything. I think I'd prefer to just let the dust settle." Of course, I knew what Manolo Blahniks were, but it was fun to feign fashion ignorance with these two.

"Okay, well just so you know, Emmett called him and told him that he can crash on our couch if he needs some space. So, I'm telling you the same, if he starts being a pain in the ass, don't be afraid to kick his ass out. Our couch sucks, one night is all it will take for him to remember his place. Ask Emmett."

I grinned at the idea. "Thanks Rose. Hopefully it won't come to that, but it's good to know I have the option."

She finished my thought. "And the power."

Alice popped in again. "Carlisle said yes, he'll happily run the grill. Esme said she'll bring dessert."

Rosalie and I exchanged a look and said together, "Death by chocolate brownies!"

"Sorry girls, she's making Edward's favorite; blueberry pie."

I rolled my eyes and Rosalie scrunched her nose. So it begins.

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**A/N:**

**Have we cleared up the oopsbaby questions?**

**We know you're still anxious to see Edward, and he arrives in chapter 5. It's done and will go to our betas tonight, so not much longer…. Hang in there. It's epic (in our opinion), and worth waiting a few days for.**

**Review and tell us what you think of Chapter 4, and while you're at, tell us what your favorite kind of pie is. If you do, we'll send you a teaser from Chapter 5, featuring... Edward.**

**An additional teaser will be posted on The Fictionators Blog on Monday.**

**Thanks for your continued reading, support, faves, and alerts.**

**Love,**

**S32 & TG**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN**

**Love and thanks to Aruni, and our Red Pen Goddesses Maylin and AzureEyed1. And also for the beautiful, talented, and supportive gals in UUville. **

**Songs for Chapter 5:**

"**Under The Hedge" – Ted Leo & The Pharmacists**

"**Fallin' For You" – Colbie Caillat**

"**See A Little Light" – Bob Mould**

**See you at the bottom!**

**Rated M for language and possible future, well, you know. If you're not old enough to buy mature rated materials, you shouldn't be reading this (and your parents should install Net Nanny.)**

**Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight, _obviously._**

**

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**Edward**** - Chicago**

I was awake before the alarm on my phone went off on Saturday morning. I didn't have much left to do other than pack the rest of my suitcases and finish loading the car. The Salvation Army was coming at eight for the last pickup of my bed, and a chair that I'd held onto until this morning. I stripped the bed, folded the bedding and wrestled the sheets and blankets back into the clear plastic zipper bags they came in, thankful that I'd followed Esme's advice and saved the bags.

They say you take something away from every relationship; the bedding was it for Victoria and me. When we started dating I still had the plain white sheets and blue comforter that I'd bought when I'd first moved out of the dorms my Junior year in college. I didn't see a problem; for a single guy they were fine, especially compared to the sheets in the on-call room at the hospital. But Victoria hated them and took me shopping for a new set. Turns out there really is a difference between cheap Target sheet sets and the 1200 thread count sheets that she talked me into buying. In the end, I was far more attached to the new bedding than I was to Victoria herself. I piled the bags by the front door with the other boxes that Garrett and I would take to UPS on the way to the airport.

I glanced at my watch. If I hurried I'd have time to run to Chet's Diner on the corner for a coffee since I'd already packed my coffee maker. I took a quick shower, shaved and packed my toiletry bag. I'd chosen a pair of comfortable jeans, a white v-neck t-shirt and a lightweight tan button down to throw over it all. It was still in the low seventies this morning here and who knew what it would be like in Seattle. Once everything was packed up and ready, I took the elevator downstairs and told Hank, the doorman, that I'd be back in a few minutes in case the delivery people arrived early.

I realized that the diner on the corner from my building was what I'd miss the most about Chicago, other than Garrett. There were Starbucks on every corner, in every city of the country, most especially Seattle, but nothing could compare to Chet's Diner; small, underappreciated, open 24 hours, and most importantly, they served a blueberry pie almost as good as my mother's.

As I walked down the street towards Chet's I wondered about what else I'd eventually miss about Chicago. I took a deep breath and surveyed my surroundings and then grinned when I realized that there wasn't anything. Chicago was windy, smelly, loud, crowded, and as I neared the diner with a grin on my face, I was immediately on the receiving end of an ugly glare from a man rushing past with a newspaper tucked under his arm.

I chuckled out loud and turned and shouted after him, "you have a good day!" as I pulled open the door to the diner.

I was ready to get this show on the road and couldn't stop grinning. I was getting odd looks from people as I realized that I was enthusiastically tapping out a song on my pant legs. I hadn't had time to write anything in years, but kept my skills honed by dabbling in my spare time on the piano or guitar, trying to play whatever I was currently listening to by ear. Over the years it had become a nervous habit to tap out the keys with my fingers wherever I was. It was a habit that I found myself doing whenever I was stressed, thinking, trying to sleep, anxious or excited. The song generally reflected my mood and today it was a fun song and my heel was even slightly tapping to the beat in my head. I caught another unfriendly glance and grinned and shrugged. For once, I didn't care what the angry city-dwellers thought. I was getting the hell out of Dodge and couldn't care less.

I was halfway back to the apartment, coffee in hand; nearly whistling when a thought occurred to me that almost knocked the wind out of me. I honestly could not remember the last time that I was this excited. When I moved from Forks to Seattle I was wary, when I finished undergrad and started med school I was focused, and when I finished med school and started my residency I was driven. This is the first time I could remember being truly enthusiastic and excited about anything.

**Bella**** - Seattle**

Saturday morning Alice had me up at the butt-crack of dawn to finish cleaning the apartment. I grumbled into my coffee that it was unnecessary and unappreciated since I had already cleaned the whole damned place this week when she was gone. She chose not to disturb me much as she scurried around me giving it another dusting and another round with the vacuum cleaner.

I decided to put Rosalie's good sheets in the washing machine. He was a guest after all. I found them in the linen closet and was carrying them to the laundry when Alice saw me.

She arched one eyebrow at me as I was standing with folded sheets and about to put them in the washing machine. "What are you doing?"

"Washing the sheets."

"But they're already folded; they're clean. And Rosalie and I put fresh sheets on last night."

"I know, but those are the cheap ones. These are the good ones, but they smell like the linen closet so I'm going to wash them. I'll put the other ones away." I started the washing machine and measured the soap.

I knew she'd be looking at me like a crazy person and as if to confirm my suspicion I heard her snort and glanced up in time to see her walking away shaking her head. I had a somewhat weird obsession with clean sheets and she knew it. But at least I was doing something, so she didn't bother me anymore.

Once my coffee had taken effect and I was properly awake, I added a few items to the short grocery list, including a drink list with everyone's favorites. Then I curled into a ball on the sofa and waited until the washer was finished. Alice shot me a couple of looks like I should be helping her clean, but I just gave her the hairy eyeball for getting me up so freaking early. She must have decided to drop it because she walked away, leaving me in peace.

**Edward -**** Chicago**

The Salvation Army had just left, and Garrett was loading the rest of the boxes to be shipped into the car. He slammed the trunk on the car and stood looking at me with a sour face. "Dude! You look like you're about to break into song or some shit. Could you tone it down just a hair?"

He tipped his head towards where I was tapping on the roof of the car again. I hadn't even realized it. "What? I'm in a good mood. What's wrong with that?"

Garrett inhaled a deep breath and jerked his head back and forth. "Brooding Eddie looking so... chipper. It's just a little alarming… can't you just pretend to be a little sad? I mean, I am your best friend and you're moving across the country. Can't you at least try to act as if you give a little bit of a shit?"

I spread my arms and started to walk towards him. "Sure I can. You wanna hug it out?"

Garrett started throwing fake punches at me. "Shut up you fucker. Just get your ass in the car and stop looking so damn happy."

I tossed him the keys. "Here, you drive."

Garrett caught them and stood staring at me with his mouth hanging open. "You want me to drive? Your Volvo? With you in the car? You're serious?"

I nodded. "Hell yeah I'm serious, you're going to drive it to Seattle, don't you think it would be a good idea for you to drive it now while I'm here so you can get used to it?"

"Oh," he chuckled."So this is a test then?"

I shrugged one shoulder and opened the passenger door. In fact, I didn't know why I was letting him drive. In the ten years that I'd known him I could probably count on one hand the number of times that I'd let him drive my car. Maybe it was a test, maybe I just wanted to let him be happy for a while since I knew that today was not the best day for him, maybe it was just a distraction. Regardless, I felt like I could handle relinquishing a bit of control today, so I went with it.

Garrett grinned and ran to the driver's side door. "Alrighty then."

I climbed in the passenger side and shut the door. Something fell out of the side pocket and fell against my foot. I adjusted the seat to a more normal sitting position from the 'pimping' position that Garrett preferred and then reached down to pick it up.

"Garrett? What the fuck is this doing here?" I was holding my copy of _Stealing Home_. I knew that I'd packed it in a box that was supposed to be shipped, so Garrett must have snuck it back out again.

Garrett glanced at it and then flinched a bit. "Oh, yeah, I thought Kate might want to read it on the drive. We'll have like three days in the car and it would give her something to talk about when she meets Bella."

"Buy your own copy." I started to tuck it back inside my carry on, but Garrett arched an eyebrow at me.

"Why? Are you afraid to part with it? I noticed that it was in the box of things going to your parents place and not into storage. Do you have some kind of emotional attachment?"

"No. Just buy your own copy. You want to read it, then help her out and buy your own."

"Why? It's already, as you pointed out, a best seller. They pretty much stop counting at that point. Don't be such a pussy and just loan me your fucking copy."

He was right; I was being a pussy. I sighed and stuck it back in the side pocket. "Fine. But don't lose it."

I noticed that he was still staring at me so I looked at him and sighed. "What?"

He was clearly trying not to laugh. "Nothing. You're just awfully protective of that book aren't you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Just drive the car."

He snickered as he pulled out of the parking garage.

**Bella – Seattle **

The sheets were on the bed and I was tired of sitting around. Alice was in the shower already, so I threw my hair into a messy bun, pulled on a pair of shorts and a lightweight sweatshirt. I cracked the bathroom door just enough to shout into it.

"Hey Alice; I'm running to the store. Do you need anything?"

"Just the stuff for the risotto, and maybe get some fruit?"

"I was planning on it, any particular fruit?" I asked, already knowing how she'd answer.

"Apples. Edward loves apples."

Of course, he had bought one everyday at lunch, and when he drove us home after school we would follow him in the house and through the kitchen where he'd inevitably pluck one out of the bowl that Esme had waiting for him before heading to his room.

"Okay. I'll grab a half-dozen."

"Hey Bella, I'll probably be gone before you get back. There's a sale I need to hit before I pick up Edward, but you can get me on my cell if you need me to pick something up."

"Okay, no problem."

"And Bells?"

Of course she would choose this time to have a long drawn out discussion since she was in the shower and couldn't see the dirty looks I'd been giving her all morning.

I sighed. "Yeah?"

"Don't be nervous. It will be fine."

I retorted quickly. "I'm not nervous Alice. It's just Edward."

Alice giggled. "Sure you're not."

"Okay, I might be a little nervous. Like I'm about to submit for some kind of experimental psychological shock therapy that might leave me permanently emotionally scarred."

She giggled again. "Just relax and try to be yourself. Well, a nicer, more polite form of yourself."

"Yeah, yeah. You tell him that too."

"I will, don't worry."

"Okay, well unless there's something else you'd like to discuss while you shave your legs, I'll see you this afternoon."

"Nope, I'm good, we'll see you later."

**Edward - Chicago**

We sat with our drinks; I got water and Garrett grabbed a Coke.

"So Edward, I'm curious about something. Is there any history between you and Bella?"

I looked at him confused. "Of course there's history. I've known her forever, you know that."

"No, I mean like between the two of you. Did you two ever hook up?"

I sipped my water and watched people on their way to their flights. "Uh uh. Why?"

"Because I'm sensing that there's more to the story. And whenever her name or her book comes up you get strangely protective, or defensive, or whatever. Like now, for example, you wouldn't look me in the eye when you answered me."

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. "No, we never hooked up. We just always kind of had a weird love-hate kind of thing. I don't know how well it'll work living with her."

"Love-hate, like how? Like you've secretly loved her forever and never told anyone?"

My jaw fell open. "No. It's more like I love her like she's a sister, but she drives me crazy sometimes, and I say stupid things to piss her off, and we've nearly killed each other on multiple occasions."

"You love her like a sister?"

"Pretty much."

"And you've never thought of her as anything more?"

I ran my hand through my hair again and squinted, watching people pass by as I contemplated how to answer that question.

Garrett started again before I had a chance to come up with something. "Yeah, see, that pause right there answers so many questions. There's history."

"No there's no actual history. There's sort of, an _almost history_."

I glanced at my watch. We only had about fifteen minutes before I'd need to get to my gate.

Garrett nodded and waved his hand. "Yeah, yeah, you gotta go soon. Talk fast."

I sighed. "The last time Bella and I spent any substantial amount of time together was the Hawaii trip. Remember?"

Between graduating from my undergrad program and starting medical school the whole family had gone to Hawaii to celebrate my parent's twenty fifth wedding anniversary and watch them renew their vows. Bella was invited on the two-week vacation at my parent's insistence, since she was practically family.

"Yeah. I forgot that she went on that trip too."

I nodded. "So anyway, the first day or two Bella and I did okay, but then she got stung by a jellyfish. She was crying, and I was trying to help. But there were signs everywhere about the jellyfish warnings, and when I mentioned them she got really pissed."

I skipped the part about how nervous I was with my hands on her bare thigh, and how I hated so much that she was hurt and crying that I lost the ability to filter my thoughts. It was the resulting verbal vomit that led to the aforementioned stupid comment that pissed her off.

"Anyway, she can be really fucking stubborn and for the next few days we could hardly stand to be around each other without fighting."

"Then I got sunburned playing volleyball, I mean really fried. I was trying to hide it because my Dad is freakishly obsessive about sunscreen and skin cancer. But I felt like shit so I decided to skip dinner. As soon as everyone was gone I took my shirt off because it hurt like hell."

I paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "I didn't know that Bella skipped dinner too for some reason that I can't remember. Anyway, she walked in on me in the kitchen and freaked when she saw how burned I was. She insisted on putting aloe on my back, and I was so miserable that I let her. I finally apologized for picking on her about the jellyfish warnings on the beach, then she made sandwiches and we hung out and watched movies."

This time I skipped the part about how good her cool hands had felt on my charred back that it was pretty much all I could think about for the rest of the vacation. She'd insisted that the aloe needed to be re-applied every few hours for the next two days; I hated the gooey stuff but happily obliged.

"After that we hung out a lot. So much in fact, that my sister started giving me weird looks. The last night we almost kissed. At least I think we almost kissed, but Emmett interrupted us." My shrug at the end spoke the 'that was it' part.

Garrett took a drink of his Coke and then set it down. "So how come nothing ever happened?"

I shook my head. "We went home and I came back here and started med school. We only saw each other a few times over the next few years."

He shrugged a question. "So maybe now…"

I shook my head. "No. Asshole boyfriend, remember?"

He nodded slowly but didn't quite hide the smirk. "Oh yeah. What's his name again? Alex?"

"Alec." I corrected and clicked the 'k' sound at the end for emphasis. I tried to ignore the reflex reaction to make a fist and I realized I even hated his name. Alex or Allen is normal, but Alec is pretentious.

I saw his eyes light up in recognition. Garrett had, of course, heard the story about the guy I almost went fist to cuffs with in the middle of my parent's New Years Eve party two years ago, but had apparently not connected the dots that the guy from the story had been Bella's boyfriend. Until now.

"The dude from New Years?"

I growled. "Yes."

My jaw clenched as Garrett howled in laughter. "You do realize that he's going to be around don't you?"

I rolled my eyes and groaned when I thought about the fact that I was going to have to get along with him too. I couldn't stand the guy and obviously, living with Bella, he'd be around all the time. Just the thought of him made me grind my teeth. The way he treated her was so... caveman; like she was his property. She deserved so much better, but I highly doubted that she'd want to hear my opinion of her relationship.

I glanced at my watch; it was time to go. "Well, I'd better get through security."

He nodded. "Guess it is that time isn't it?"

I picked up my bag and we threw our trash away. As we left the café I turned to face Garrett. He was twirling my keys around his finger; his face was unreadable.

"So don't wreck it, okay?"

"Huh?" His brows were pulled together. Clearly his mind was somewhere else.

"The Volvo. Don't wreck it okay? The oil's been changed, but take it easy for the first few hundred miles. I haven't taken it out of the city in a while."

Garrett nodded. "Don't worry, I'll wait until I'm at least out of Illinois to push it over 100."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, knowing full well he would be in Wisconsin in under two hours. "Just be careful and we'll see you Thursday night sometime?"

Garrett nodded again. "I'll call you as we're getting close with a better timeline. Kate's been dying to get on the road, so we might be there sometime Wednesday, but if she wants to stop at every landmark, we might not make it until Friday."

We man hugged and he clapped my back. "What do you call a flight attendant's vagina?"

I shook my head laughing. "I don't know."

This was Garrett's way of saying goodbye. It was a thing Emmett, Garrett and I had been doing since college. He would throw out a raunchy joke and it was up to me to figure out the punch line. If I got it I'd text or call him with it, if not, he'd tell me next time we talked. I don't know how he always remembered what the joke was, but he did.

I'd almost reached the front of the line through security when it came to me. I turned to look back and he was still standing there, hands in his pockets.

I caught his eye and he tipped his chin up, eyebrows arched, telling me he was waiting for my answer.

I smiled and called, "Cockpit."

He grinned, nodded, sent me a quick wave and turned towards the exit. I watched him loafing down the hall and realized I was really going to miss Garrett. They'd broken the mold with him.

I was waiting at my gate a little before eleven-thirty when my phone rang; it was Alice.

"Hello?"

"Hi Edward, are you boarding yet?"

"Not yet, soon though. What's up?"

"I wanted to let you know that we've changed dinner plans for tonight."

"Okay."

"Bella's making dinner at our place."

There was a pause while I absorbed what she said.

"Really? She didn't have to do that."

"She insisted. A welcome home for you, as she put it."

"Okay. Well what can we pick up on our way home?"

"Nothing. she's already getting everything, she's at the store right now. I just wanted to let you know so that you can prepare to be on your best behavior."

I sighed in frustration. "This again! Why does everyone keep saying that? I don't pick fights with Bella."

"I know that Edward, but she's nervous, and you know how she gets when she's nervous."

"Oversensitive and defensive?"

"See? That's what I mean, that's not nice. Look, just be extra nice, okay?"

"Of course Alice. You guys are helping me out and I want it to go well too."

They were calling for boarding of my flight then, and although it wasn't my row I was ready to end yet another 'be nice to Bella' lecture.

"Yep, they're boarding now, so I'll see you soon."

"Have a safe flight okay?"

"Will do, thanks again." I ended the call, tucked my phone into my pocket, and waited for my row to be called.

**Bella – Seattle **

When I got to the store it was relatively quiet. Apparently not many people under the age of seventy do their grocery shopping at nine o'clock in the morning. They were just stocking some fresh seafood, and I made a last minute decision to add shrimp to the kebobs. Not knowing what Edward liked to drink, I went with my own favorite beer, and as I was heading to checkout I passed the flowers. There were several really pretty flower arrangements.

I pondered whether fresh flowers would be overdoing it. Then I wondered what kind of flowers you get to welcome a man who is invading your living space. Not roses; that would be too romantic. I liked lilies, but everyone knows that, and it would be pathetic to buy myself flowers. After several minutes of shifting from one foot to the other I decided not to get any flowers at all and proceeded to the checkout counter.

Throughout the checkout, bagging and carrying the groceries to my car I continued to stew about the flowers. If it were just Esme and Carlisle coming for dinner, I wouldn't hesitate to get fresh flowers, so why was I letting Edward throw me into such a tailspin?

Damn, I'm a girl and if I wanted fresh flowers for my apartment, then I should buy some fresh flowers and not worry about it. I finally marched back into the store and spent another ten minutes trying to decide which flowers to buy, finally settling on the gerbera daisies. Everyone loves daisies, right?

By noon the steak and chicken were both in a marinade bath, the shrimp was shelled, deveined, seasoned and waiting in the refrigerator to be skewered. The daisies were trimmed and arranged in a pretty vase that had been moved from the counter, to the dining table, to the coffee table. I was currently staring at it, debating moving it to my bedroom, when my cell phone chirped low battery, breaking me out of my hypnotic state with such a jolt that I jumped several inches in the air and a loud yelp slipped out. I put my hand over my chest where my heart had nearly broken through my sternum and exhaled a deep breath.

I frowned at the flowers. "Oh holy hell. Okay, time to calm the fuck down; they're just daisies."

I turned towards the stairs to go take my shower before I could actually have a nervous breakdown over the damned flowers. As I climbed the stairs I acknowledged that this was not a good start to the next however many weeks that I would be living with Edward. It was time to pull up my big girl panties and just deal with the situation at hand. I needed to stop obsessing. This was just a meeting to plan the retreat and then dinner with the Cullens; something I'd probably done a hundred times in the last twenty years. As I crossed the top step I told myself that Edward being here changed nothing; absolutely nothing.

"So why did I get Edward flowers?" I said out loud.

With that I turned around and ran back downstairs, grabbed the damned daisies that were now my very least favorite flower in the world, ran back upstairs, and set them on my dresser, hard enough to probably mar the finish.

I shot the flowers one last dirty look and then marched to the bathroom and slammed the door, muttering to myself. "Stupid damned daisies."

**Edward – Seattle **

The plane touching down jarred me awake. "Shit!" The curse slipped out before I could stop it.

I looked around, but no one seemed to have heard me. I hated falling asleep on planes. I'm not really afraid of flying, but I'd never been a fan of the landing part, so waking up to a bouncy landing was not my favorite thing in the world. It was stupid really; I should have known I would doze off when I turned on Debussy on my iPod in an effort to relax.

This dinner at Bella's had me stressed out. She was going out of her way to welcome me, and everyone kept telling me to behave. Had I always been that awful to her? Obviously I teased her, she'd always been fun to get a rise out of; and it was easy. But she called me out on my crap just as often. It was mutual, so why was everyone telling me to behave?

Because I was the guest in her home; it was up to me to make this work. If I was honest with myself, I really wanted it to. I was looking forward to spending time with Bella; the time in Hawaii had been incredible. I just wasn't looking forward to seeing Alec.

And, of course, that was probably why everyone kept telling me to behave; because of Alec. No one had mentioned him specifically, but he would obviously be there tonight. It was Bella's house and she'd certainly invite her boyfriend to a dinner party. That's when I'd started to get stressed out. Because I just wasn't certain if I could handle making nice with him, especially if he treated her the way he had at the New Year's party. He probably wouldn't because Bella would be cooking dinner, like a good little housewife, and not being the strong, independent, and brilliant writer she was. I made a mental note to avoid bringing up her book in front of him because it seemed to be the catalyst to our conflict at the party, so I'd avoid that topic.

I waited patiently in my seat and re-set my watch to Seattle time; four fifteen became two fifteen. I never understood why people chose to stand around and not move while we waited to de-board the plane. There wasn't enough room to stand upright, so everyone hunched over awkwardly and waited for the line to move. When it finally did, I stood and pulled my carry-on from the overhead compartment.

As I made my way to the baggage claim, I caught a couple of glimpses out the airport windows at the people working in short sleeved shirts. While the Seattle skies were gray and overcast as usual, it was apparently warm.

As soon as I got to the baggage claim there was a petite brunette bouncing on her tip toes to see over the other people. It reminded me of when she was ten years old and of course, she wasn't that much taller now. When her green eyes met mine they lit with happiness and she started running right at me.

I dropped my bag and caught her with a laugh.

"Edward!" She squealed.

"Alice! I've missed you." I spun her around.

"Welcome home!"

"Good to be home. You look great!" She did too; she looked happy, really happy.

Always the fashionista, she gave me a once over. "Thanks. You look good too, tired though, and this is a bit plain. A white t-shirt and beige button down? That's the best you could do?" She tugged at my shirt tail for emphasis.

I laughed. "I was going for comfortable, Alice, not runway."

She reached up and tousled my hair. "Well, you've got me now, so we'll fix you up."

I looked down at my shirt and brushed at it, "What's wrong with my clothes? I like the way I dress."

"Edward, you're a hot single guy. There's good, and then there's _really good_." She hip-checked me and started pulling me towards the baggage carousel, "Come on."

While we were waiting for the baggage carousel to start I spotted a flower stand near the exit.

"Hey Alice, what kind of flowers does Bella like?"

She followed my gaze. "Oh, good idea. Lillies are her favorite I think, but that might be a little…" She bit the corner of her lip.

I nodded, understanding her meaning. "Okay, well we'll see what they have."

"Do you want me to go pick something out?"

I shook my head. "No I'll do it. Here come the bags."

I picked up my two suitcases and stationed them with Alice near the door while I went in search of flowers.

It was a harder decision than I thought. The wrong ones would suggest romance, and that would piss off Alec, but I didn't want to get something cheap either. I almost gave up when I found a nice bunch of daisies; perfect. Daisies were platonic and friendly.

I bought the flowers and left the shop to find an impatient Alice, pacing in front of my bags.

"What took so long?"

I shrugged. "I didn't know what to get."

"Why didn't you let me pick them out then?"

"Because I wanted to Alice, geez, what's the problem? I landed early, we're not running late."

The side of Alice's mouth curled up. "You just took twenty minutes picking out flowers you know."

"So?"

"Nervous much?"

I rolled my eyes and handed her the flowers so that I could pick up my two bags, leaving Alice the carry on.

**Bella -**** Seattle**

I was dressed casually in a white cotton sun dress. The long hot shower had done wonders to calm my nerves. I also took my time blow-drying my hair and even put a couple of soft curls in it. I opted for casually barefoot but dressed my feet with an ankle bracelet and toe ring, thankful for the pedicure I'd gotten the week before.

When I went back downstairs I turned on the iHome and poured myself another glass of water to take my antibiotic and the Motrin to fend off the headache that had started again. I'd missed a call from Alec while I was in the shower and called him back, leaving another voicemail that the Cullens were all coming for dinner tonight. I didn't spell out that _all_ of them were coming, but he and Alice had a mutual hate hate relationship, and I think Rosalie scared him. Carlisle and Esme intimidated the hell out of him because he didn't know how to handle people who were genuinely kind and affluent as they were. If he knew they were all going to be at my place tonight he wouldn't try to stop by.

After I turned the meats in the marinade bowls, I got out the vegetables and started to chop them for the shish kebobs. Having something to do was helpful and pretty soon I was humming along with Colbie Caillat and in a pretty good mood considering who was due to walk through the doors any minute.

I finished the red peppers and picked up a pile to put them in the bowl that I'd lined up next to the other vegetables that were finished. As I transferred the pieces I dropped one on the floor and bent over to pick it up and then turned to toss it in the sink. That's when the room abruptly tilted and spun around me. I grabbed for the counter to steady myself, but unfortunately when I reached for the counter, my hand wrapped around the blade of the knife. As my hand slid across the surface of the counter, the knife handle caught the cutting board, shoving it forward through my fist and effectively slicing my palm.

_Fuck! _

With a gasp I dropped the knife, but the dizziness was only worsened by the pain and sight of my own blood. My mouth started watering immediately with the reflex to vomit. I grabbed the dish towel that I used to dry my hands and lowered myself to the floor and while I squeezed my hand with the towel and started taking deep breaths.

_Please don't puke. Please don't puke. _

I lifted the towel for a second and immediately fresh blood pooled in my palm.

_Crap. That was stupid. I shouldn't have looked. _

The room started spinning faster and my vision started to narrow. I wrapped the towel around my hand and held it over my head. I knew that I needed to clean the wound and get it wrapped up tightly, but if I tried to stand up right now I'd surely pass out. So I sat on the floor, with my hand over my head and waited for the dizziness to pass.

An unknown number of minutes later I was still sitting on the floor with my hand over my head, trying desperately not to pass out. I felt a trickle of blood start to run down the bottom side of my forearm and knew I really needed to do something soon, but I was so lightheaded and my vision had darkened to the point that all my eyes could focus on was the knob of the cabinet in front of me. My entire brain, however, was focused on that one trickle of blood as it slowly ran further down my arm. I knew at some point before it reached my shoulder I would surely lose it and either puke or pass out because there was no way I was going to be able to move, and I definitely couldn't handle the blood dripping down to where I'd be able to see it.

That's when I heard Alice's key in the front door followed quickly by the voices of both her and Edward. "Bella! We're home! Follow me, I'll show you where your room is. Bella where are you?"

I couldn't unlock my jaw to answer her, because it was the only thing stopping my stomach from unleashing its contents all over the kitchen floor. So I did the only thing I could do and raised my hand just a couple of inches higher over the countertop so that hopefully one of them would see it over the breakfast bar.

I heard Alice first. "Bella!?"

Instantly a feeling of relief swept over me and I exhaled one of the deep breaths that I'd been taking and let my head fall back against the cabinet behind me. Alice's voice was followed by the sound of bags being dropped and footsteps running around the bar to the kitchen.

Alice squatted down in front of me and grabbed my face with both of her hands. I didn't open my eyes but felt her breath on my face. "Are you okay?"

I nodded but didn't open my eyes, my whole body felt heavy as the fear was replaced with relief and exhaustion. I felt what must have been Edward's fingers gently hold my wrist, unwrap the towel and uncurl my fingers.

Alice's cool hand moved to my forehead and she whispered. "Oh Bella, you're white as a sheet."

**Edward – Seattle **

After taking a quick look at her hand I rewrapped it. It had started to bleed again immediately and the amount of blood in her palm made it difficult to see the severity of the injury.

I started opening and closing drawers. "Alice where are the dish towels?"

"There." She pointed to the third drawer down next to the sink. She was on the floor in front of a very pale and clammy looking Bella. I know she didn't like blood, but her color was really bad; worrisome in fact.

I wet a clean washcloth, removed the blood soaked towel and started carefully wiping away the blood. I hissed at what was clearly a deep cut in the palm of her hand. Dear God, how had this poor girl managed to reach the age of twenty-seven without losing life or limb? I had yet to ever meet anyone else as clumsy as Bella Swan. I stole a glance down at her face and she still looked to be at risk of passing out. I needed to lighten the mood, or at least distract her from the injury.

"Well Bella, I see you haven't changed much. You might need stitches so let's get this cleaned up. Alice, I'm assuming being as accident prone as Bella here is that you guys have a first aid kit. Could you get it please?"

Bella rolled her eyes and sighed, but didn't argue with me; that was a bad sign. Bella was not one to hold back. I re-wrapped her hand in a clean towel, but it would need to be thoroughly cleaned before I knew if I was planning an early visit to my new hospital this evening.

"Come on Bella, let's get you to the bathroom and clean this up. Can you stand?"

Alice and I each took an arm to help her stand, but when Alice let go of her she swayed. I wrapped my arm around her waist to catch her and then scooped up her legs quickly, she needed to lie down. "How about the couch until you're a little steadier."

She nodded weakly and leaned her head against my shoulder with a sigh. I carried her to the couch and settled her down gently. Alice delivered a large bowl, the first aid kit, and a gallon of distilled water. She would have made a good nurse.

I pulled up a chair and opened the first aid kit. It was fully stocked, including an eyewash kit. I filled the squeeze bottle and holding her hand over the bowl started rinsing the blood away from the cut. Alice got another clean washcloth and laid it over Bella's forehead. I kept stealing glances at her while I worked on her hand. Her color was still bad, but was starting to come back, beads of perspiration dotted her upper lip.

I let a slow breath of relief out once I cleaned the cut and was able to see that although it was a good bleeder, it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd originally thought. It could be fixed with a butterfly stitch, which they had in the first aid kit. The only difficulty was the location. The palm of her hand meant that it would get flexed a lot, making it difficult to heal. I had an idea, though, if she would cooperate.

I was squeezing her palm with the washcloth and holding it up. "So, Bella, have you by chance sprained your wrist anytime recently?"

She opened one eye and looked at me skeptically. "A few years ago, why?"

"Do you still have the splint?"

"Yes."

"Good. Here's the deal. If you went to the hospital they would probably give you stitches just because of the location of the cut in your palm. If you try to use your hand at all you will likely re-open it without stitches. It's not so deep that it really needs stitches though. I can butterfly it here, but I want to wrap your hand in the splint to immobilize it for a few days, giving the cut a chance to close on its own. Sound good?"

She gave me a big smile. "No hospital, no shots, and no stitches? You got a deal." The relief alone brought some pink back to her cheeks. My chest swelled with the idea that I'd made it better for her. I was also reminded of just how beautiful she was.

Alice had been hovering nearby and ran off to get the splint. It wouldn't feel that good as it would actually lie right against her palm, but it would get the job done. Lying down seemed to help with the dizziness, and pretty soon Bella appeared to be feeling better, if not a bit embarrassed. She pulled the washcloth off her forehead and crossed her legs at the ankles nervously, then cleared her throat and took a deep breath.

"Hi Edward, good to see you again." She offered a weak smile.

"You too Bella. You know I was worried I might be bored while I was here, and not working for a while I might get a little rusty. I should have remembered who I would be living with…"

Her cheeks flushed a brighter pink and I cheered inwardly. "Hah Hah. Yeah, I'm a klutz and all that. Are you going to start already? I thought we were supposed to play nice."

I sat back to look at her. "I'm trying to make nice here Bella. There's so many smart ass things running through my head right now. But seriously, you have to admit that this is pretty funny. I mean, there's klutzy and then there's you bleeding on the floor when I walked in the door! That's pretty funny!"

Even Bella could see the humor in it. She smirked, and then snorted and then we were both laughing heartily.

I was still chuckling, but had to ask her. "So tell me, how does one slice their palm open while chopping vegetables? I thought you were a pretty good cook."

That caused Bella to frown. "I dropped a piece and when I bent to pick it up and toss it in the sink I had a head rush. I grabbed the counter to steady myself and accidentally grabbed the knife instead."

"A head rush? So you were dizzy before you cut your hand open?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "Yes Dr. Cullen, I've been getting dizzy sometimes. Don't worry, your sister made me go to the doctor yesterday and I have a sinus infection."

I frowned. "Must be a pretty bad one to cause dizziness. How long have you had it?"

She sighed at me, clearly annoyed by my questions. "You know I went to the doctor so I wouldn't have to get into it with you and your Dad. I had a cold in March and never really bounced back. The doc said it's probably been lingering ever since. He gave me Amoxicillin and a steroid. Any other questions?"

_Yes, lots. _

The doctor in me wanted to run a blood test and do a full work up, but I could probably only get away with one. "Did the dizziness get better when you sat down?"

She flushed a bit. "Not really, but it's the blood. Remember who you're dealing with?"

I nodded in understanding. Hell, I'd been the one to carry her out of Biology her junior year on the day of the blood typing lab, something I'd teased her about for weeks. At least now she seemed willing to laugh about it too.

"How do you feel now?"

"Much better thank you. Honestly, Edward, I'm fine."

Alice was cleaning up the blood that had dripped on the floor when the doorbell rang and she ran to answer it, greeting Mom and Dad. Alice explained about the accident and Dad came to lean over my shoulder and inspect my work, but I was already wrapping her hand around the splint. I fought down the mild irritation that he thought he needed to check my work.

"Good idea to use the splint. I would have taken her in for stitches."

I gave Bella a pointed look, "She won't need them as long as she keeps it wrapped until I say otherwise."

Bella rolled her eyes at me again. "Yes sir."

Dad patted my shoulder. "Welcome home son. Bella, I bet you're glad to have a doctor on hand."

She nodded. "Yep. He just saved me a hundred dollar emergency room co-pay."

Now I rolled my eyes at her. Of course that was how she'd look at it. The pain and blood meant little to her now that it was over.

Jasper arrived then and after greeting him, Esme made her way to me and Bella. I finished securing the bandage around Bella's hand and then gave Esme a bear hug.

"Hello dear, how was the flight?"

"Less eventful than the greeting here, thankfully." I smirked at Bella.

Mom was patting my cheek. "You look tired."

I nodded. "I picked up a lot of extra shifts before I left, but now I can relax until July."

Bella was moving to stand up from the couch. I reached down to take her elbows. "Whoa there, slowly at first, okay?"

I held her shoulders to steady her and watched her eyes closely, looking for any signs of dizziness. Her large, clear, brown eyes stared back at mine, and for a second I swear everything else went still and silent and a thousand memories flashed past.

I saw this girl coming out of Alice's room on a Sunday morning in pajamas and messy hair. I saw her running through the sprinkler in her first bikini. Some years later I saw her holding hands in the school halls with her first boyfriend and blushing when he kissed her cheek. I saw her sitting in the bleachers and cheering as I rounded third base and headed for home. I remember watching her walk into the woods holding hands with Tyler Crowley, and the pained look on her face as my words hurt her only moments later. Finally, I saw the same eyes on a white beach on a warm night in Hawaii.

My breath caught and I swallowed. "Okay. You look pretty steady. Keep that hand clean and dry, okay?"

She blinked and nodded. "Okay thanks. Now, let me get you a drink."

I dropped my hands from her shoulders. "Sure, what do you have?"

"Well I have Guinness for Emmett, Rum and Coke for Jasper, Whiskey and bitters for Carlisle's Old Fashions, Chardonnay for Esme, Alice and Rosalie are drinking raspberry Smirnoff Ice, and I have Sam Adam's Summer Ale. I didn't know what you liked."

I arched my eyebrows. "That's quite a selection. Sam Adam's sounds perfect."

As we were all gathering around the dining room table Bella delivered me two beers and a bottle opener. She held up her injured hand. "A little help?"

Alice had a note tablet and was acting as secretary. She took planning a party very seriously. As I handed Bella's bottle back to her I caught her eye and glanced at Alice then rolled my eyes; she giggled. Then she spotted the daisies that Esme was moving to a side table. Alice had arranged them into a vase while I was cleaning Bella's hand. She got a curious expression on her face and pointed at them with her bandaged hand. "Did you bring those?"

I shrugged. "Just a thank you for letting me stay here and making dinner."

She beamed, positively beamed. "You didn't have to do that, but thank you."

I nodded. "It's the least I could do, and you're welcome."

As we took our seats Bella started to giggle and she kept looking at the daisies. I shot her a questioning look, but she just waved her hand and shook her head to tell me it was nothing, but it was obviously something.

Alice cleared her throat. "So, Mom, what do you have for us?"

Esme laid two folders on the table. "Well, I didn't have a lot of time, you know, but we found two options. Mostly, we need a final headcount. That might be the deciding factor."

Bella looked up. "Oh, that's me. Well, obviously we've got Em, Rose, Jasper, Alice, Edward, Garrett, Kate and Me. I've heard from Mike Newton and Jessica Stanley and they're in, Ange and Ben are out, Tyler's coming alone, and then Rosalie's cousin Lauren. So that's an even twelve."

_This should be an interesting weekend. There's overlapping history all over that guest list._

Alice looked at Bella with a puzzled look. "Just Tyler? Where's Kristina?"

Bella nodded and pinched her lips into a frown. "Just Tyler. Apparently he and Kristina are getting a divorce."

Alice gasped. "Really? Oh poor Tyler, what happened?"

Bella made a face. "I'm not really sure, but he's been suspicious about her and some guy for a while. I think there might have been some fidelity issues."

I accidentally barked a laugh. "She cheated on him?"

Bella turned shocked, wide eyes to me, she was pissed. "You think it's funny? He's devastated."

"I'm sorry. No it's not funny. It's just that, well, he was a player in high school and at least his freshman year of college, according to Emmett. I don't know, it's karma or something."

Bella arched her eyebrows at me. "You want to talk about karma, how's your karma, Edward? Let's talk about Jessica, shall we?"

I gaped at her. I wondered what exactly she knew but that was secondary to what she'd just insinuated in front of my own mother. I could not believe she just said that. "No."

I chanced a glance at Mom and Dad. Mom was suddenly very busy making notes on a small note tablet. Dad appeared to be very interested in their light fixture; he also looked like he was trying not to laugh.

Bella gave me a tight smile. "Okay then, maybe we should all reserve judgment. Tyler's devastated and I feel bad for him."

That shocked me. "I just can't believe you'd feel bad for Tyler."

"Seriously Edward? It's been ten freaking years. First of all, he didn't actually do anything to me. Secondly, yes, I got over it a long, long time ago. We're friends."

Alice practically yelped. "Why can't Ben and Ange come?" Then she shot me a look that told me to drop it.

Bella grinned. "I'm not supposed to say."

But Alice was like a mind reader and she squealed immediately. "She's pregnant! Oh my God!"

Bella grinned and nodded. "But I didn't say anything. Promise."

There was some squealing over babies and a somewhat heated debate about which trip we should take. I voted for the resort, but Alice and Bella both felt like it was too expensive and much too fancy for Rose and Emmett's taste. Since this was about them and they specifically asked for something fun, relaxing, casual, and involving outdoor activities, I got overruled. That put me on the sofa-bed in one of the three cottages that the group would be renting on Orcas Island.

We made plans to meet again with Alice, Bella, Mom and I for lunch on Tuesday to finalize the details. Alice was planning some activities, Bella was in charge of food and I was handling beverages. Once we all acknowledged our responsibilities, Alice put away her note tablet, essentially adjourning the meeting and the whole tone shifted to a more casual atmosphere.

We chatted for a bit until we heard the front door open and Emmett's booming voice from the front entryway. "Okay men, beer, sports and testosterone on the back patio. Ladies, wedding chatter, and estrogen in the kitchen."

This was followed by a loud smack which was probably Rosalie's hand on the back of his head. "Seriously Emmett? Women in the kitchen? Could you be any more chauvinist?"

Emmett walked into the dining room rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't mean it like that. The men can take the kitchen, whatever. I just need some time with my boys." His eyes found mine and he grinned and as he started around the table. I stood to meet my brother.

"Seriously dude, living with a chick and planning a wedding… if I have to have one more conversation about centerpieces, seating arrangements, or dance lessons I'm putting a bullet in my head."

We joined fists and man-hugged shoulder to shoulder and clapped each other on the back. "Good to have you home, man."

"Thanks. How are ya' Em? Garrett says hi, he should be here sometime on Thursday or Friday."

"Sweet." Emmett got that twinkle in his eye that he always got when planning some sort of mischief. I wondered what sorts of shenanigans the two of them would drag me into once Garrett arrived.

The women headed towards the kitchen and I followed to get another beer. As I passed the stack of plates on the counter I quickly counted, two, four, six... eight. I stopped and stared at the plates counting again, my brows furrowed. I'd expected nine. Did that mean Alec wouldn't be joining us for dinner tonight?

I counted eight again. Not nine.

Eight, not nine.

Though I knew I'd have to deal with him eventually, it wouldn't have to be tonight. I grinned at the realization.

I turned again and saw that Bella was moving bowls around and laying out shish kebob skewers into an assembly line. I glanced at her beer; it was mostly empty so I grabbed another one and opened it for her.

As I handed her the beer I smiled and pointed at the food. "You keep that hand away from the food, doctor's orders. Clean and dry."

She frowned at me, but as I left the kitchen I heard Esme firmly direct Bella towards a bar stool while the rest of them worked to skewer the kebobs.

I joined my father, Emmett and Jasper out on the back patio. We talked briefly about the wedding before Emmett banned any further wedding speak. From there it was kept light, mostly the remodel project, which Carlisle seemed to be avoiding as well, work a bit, and we finally settled on sports.

Bella popped her head out at one point and asked Carlisle to start the grill. She checked our drinks and promised to be back shortly with the kebobs.

We were just getting into a predictable sports debate when the slider door opened and Esme slipped out with a mountainous tray of kebobs followed by Bella who had two bowls of marinade and two basting brushes. Bella set the bowls on the grill tray and gave Carlisle instructions about which was for the chicken and which was for steak. She checked everyone's drinks and promised to return with a refill for me and Jasper.

Emmett was forever a Mets fan and was laying out his argument that they would once again 'go all the way', something he claimed every year regardless of the roster quality, when Bella stepped back out with my beer and opener.

I shook my head "No way Em, the Mets won't hold out to the end of the season. The Cubs will totally take it."

I took the bottler opener and was popping open my beer when Bella started her own argument. "You know I think you've gotta look at the Red Sox. Believe me; I hate having to take anything Boston or Yankees. But they've got solid odds. In my mind, they have the least amount of warts out of any of the other top contenders. The Cubs look okay, although I'm convinced that trading away DeRosa will end up haunting them in the end. The Mets are choke-artists. The Phillies will have a hard time repeating, but Lee will help. The Rays won't have the luxury of sneaking up on anyone this year. You almost have to take the Red Sox by default."

While she talked she quickly cleaned up an empty bottle from Jasper, stacked the marinade bowls onto the tray and then quickly disappeared back inside before any of us could get a word in edgewise.

I was stunned, and to be honest, a little turned on, barely remembering to snap my mouth shut. Emmett was staring at the sliding door that she'd just disappeared through with a frown, and Jasper and my Dad both started chuckling. Emmett turned to me suspiciously. "Did you tell her that?"

I joined my Dad and Jasper in laughing and shook my head. "No, I wish I had. I can't find a single flaw in her argument though. Does she follow baseball?"

Emmett nodded. "I didn't think so. We'll have to test her knowledge tomorrow. You guys are all coming to my place to watch the game."

Forty-five minutes later the shish kebobs were finished and the girls had a buffet put together on the breakfast bar. They didn't have a dining room large enough to accommodate everyone so we split up. Carlisle, Esme, Emmett and Rosalie took the dining table while Alice, Jasper, Bella and I sat out on the patio.

The conversation was good, but the food was better. The steak and chicken were grilled to perfection and had the most amazing flavor. The vegetables were all fresh and barely seasoned, but the shrimp was what really blew my mind. I was so in awe with my dinner that I didn't realize I was making so many audible mmmm sounds that I hadn't even heard Jasper trying to talk to me until he cleared his throat and Alice kicked me at the same time.

I looked up to see that Alice was glaring at me, Bella was amused and Jasper was, well Jasper, he didn't care. I swallowed the shrimp. "Jasper I'm sorry, this dinner temporarily overwhelmed my ability to process two things at once. Bella, this is awesome; what did you put on this shrimp?"

She spared a glance at Jasper before grinning and shaking her head at her plate. "I don't give away my secrets."

She was teasing me and I knew it. "Fine, don't tell me, but please make these again. I'll willingly skewer and grill them."

She chewed thoughtfully. "Hmmm, I don't know. I've seen what you do on a cook-top, so I'm not sure I'm willing to put you in front of an open fire."

Alice hiccupped a laugh and I picked a forkful of her sticky box risotto and let it fall in a glop on my plate with a pointed look. She narrowed her eyes at me and I turned back to my conversation with Jasper.

Jasper is an interesting guy; he had himself emancipated when he was sixteen and joined the military after graduating high school. He proved to be a natural leader, earned a few commendations and could have made a career out of it, but took his discharge with honors and started his own IT business. He sold that business by the time he was twenty-five and is now a part-time business consultant and has a few 'pet projects' as he calls them.

One of his pet projects was a community center where he volunteered, did some IT training, and set up computer terminals for people to do job searches and check emails. He was asking me to volunteer some time each month to offer health care.

"Sure, I'd love to. I have to clear it with Seattle Grace first, but I don't expect it to be a problem, as long as they can attach their name to the philanthropy. I can probably get some flu shots through the hospital too."

As promised, Esme brought her blueberry pie for me and there was a squeal from the girls when she also uncovered a plate of brownies. Bella made coffee and we all spread out around the living room and chatted.

Carlisle was sitting in the arm chair to my left enjoying his pie while we all talked. Once finished he set his plate on the coffee table. "So Edward did you find storage for all of your belongings?"

I nodded. "Yeah, everything is getting shipped. A couple of boxes will arrive here on Tuesday and the rest will go to a small storage unit."

"What about your furniture?"

"I was going to hire a company to move it all out here, but decided I'd rather just start from scratch so I donated most of it."

I noticed Bella's eyes following the conversation back and forth. She stared at us with her lips slightly parted. She looked utterly baffled. I met her stare and waited for her to ask the question that was so clearly plaguing her.

She finally blinked, "Um, I'm sorry. You donated all of your furniture?"

I nodded, "I decided it really wasn't my style anymore. So I donated it and will buy new stuff to go with my new place."

She still looked confused. "You're getting a new apartment?"

I nodded slowly. "Or a house, I really haven't decided yet. I haven't had a chance to look at the market out here."

Bella looked even more confused if that was possible. Everyone else had picked up on the strange turn of our conversation, and there were looks of confusion being exchanged throughout the room before they all settled on Bella.

Her eyebrows were pulled together like she was concentrating really hard. "The market… _out here_?"

I looked at Alice, and she returned my blank look with wide eyes and a slow shrug of her shoulders before she turned to Bella. "Remember I told you the other day that Edward is transferring to Seattle Grace."

She seemed to process this like Alice had just told her I was growing a second set of arms. She slowly turned back to me. "So you already let your apartment go?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"And you donated all of your furniture?"

I nodded again. What was she missing here? Hadn't they told her all of this?

Her cheeks were starting to turn pink. "So you're not just here for the wedding?"

She looked at Alice who was shifting uncomfortably. Esme had started to quietly clear dishes away to the kitchen so she swiveled back to me. Her eyes flashed with anger. "So this isn't really a visit is it? You're moving in?"

Alice kept blinking and was staring back and forth between me and Bella. "Bella, I told you about this the other day, remember?"

Bella jerked her head towards Alice. "No. You didn't. You said that he flies in on the thirtieth, and the wedding is the twentieth. To quote you, 'no big deal'."

Alice nodded. "Yes, that's what I said Tuesday morning, but we talked about a lot of things, like giving up the lease on the fifteenth of July. I told you Tuesday night that he was transferring, remember?"

Bella's eyes were wide and angry. "Um, no, you didn't."

Alice nodded. "Yes, I did, you freaked out, we had a fight and then I went to Jasper's. Remember? And you said yesterday that you were fine with all of this."

Bella squinted at her and shook her head quickly. "No. I remember we fought, about…"she paused to think. "About Edward staying here. I remember that, and I was mad because you Esme'd me."

I heard Mom gasp from the kitchen. "Esme'd her? What is that supposed to mean?"

But Alice and Bella were too caught up in their own argument to hear or acknowledge Esme's hurt words. Alice continued, "And I told you that I never talked to Mom and didn't ask her to call you."

"Yeah right! You talk to your mother every damn day!" Bella shouted and jumped to her feet.

I stood also, "Look Bella, obviously there's been a misunderstanding, and if you don't want me here I can find somewhere else–"

"A misunderstanding! Is that Cullen-speak for fucking someone over? That's an awfully polite way of putting it isn't it?"

Alice's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me? I did not fuck you over! We talked about all of this. You agreed that it was the right thing –"

Bella interrupted. "I agreed to let him stay here for the wedding. And you know that I wasn't happy about it. But this just sucks, tricking me into letting him move in here. Is he going to pay Rosalie's rent? Or was I just supposed to foot the bill too? I already have barely a month to find a new place to live, and the wedding, now this!" She threw her hands up in exasperation.

Now I was pissed and growled at Bella. "You know what? I don't need this shit. I am not a freeloader. Alice, thanks for the offer, but I knew this wouldn't work; I can't stay here with a crazy person. I'll find someplace this weekend and be out of your hair as soon as possible."

Bella yelled back, "Don't take this out on me! I am not a crazy person! Everyone just does whatever they want and no one even asks me! How am I supposed to react? Alice tells me this week that she's moving out. Rosalie already moved out and now…" Bella's expression changed so swiftly that I almost missed it until the tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"And I'm just supposed to roll with it all. Edward's visiting… oh wait, no, Edward's moving in. Sure, no problem, why should anyone bother to check with Bella, she won't mind. Bella never minds. Here Bella, plan the meals for the retreat. Bella be a bridesmaid. Bella find something old and something blue, and oh, by the way Bella, you're going to need to find a new place to live, and in your spare time Bella, make a living to pay for all this shit and, oh yeah, how's that book coming along?"

She angrily wiped at her face. "I don't care, it's really fine Edward. Just stay as long as you need to."

We all stood there stunned and watched as Bella abruptly turned and marched up the stairs without another word.

No one spoke for a really long time.

Finally Rosalie cleared her throat. "Well that was fucking awkward. Sorry Esme, Carlisle."

I was enraged; how could they have done this to me? I threw my hands up. "So this is why everyone kept telling me to behave! If I was nice enough you assumed Bella wouldn't mind that I was essentially moving in?"

Alice shook her head vehemently "No! Edward I swear to God I told her everything. She was fine with it. Seriously!"

Rose nodded her agreement. "She was. I talked to her last night Edward."

Mom came out of the kitchen with a tissue in her hand and tears in her eyes. "What did she mean that I Esme'd her?"

Alice's shoulders slumped. "Mom honest, it's not as bad as it sounds."

"Does she feel like I manipulated her?"

"No! She just…well you know that no one can say no to you. That's all she meant."

"Well she could have said no."

I collapsed onto the couch with my face in my hands. She really hated me, absolutely hated me. She was going along with this because my whole family had cornered her, but she obviously wanted nothing to do with this. Mom was in tears and Alice was freaking out, insisting that Bella had been fine just this morning.

I heard Esme insist that Alice go and check on her, but Rosalie went instead.

We all watched Rosalie go up the stairs and sat in silence, listening to the quiet sounds from upstairs. I could hear Bella gasping and hiccupping as she was trying to talk through her tears. I resisted the intense urge to climb the stairs myself and apologize profusely for the idiocy of my family.

I heard Rosalie close the door quietly upstairs, and then come back down. She smiled at me. "Edward, you are to stay here. She feels awful about her meltdown. She's just been a little stressed, and she said she has a horrible headache, so she wasn't thinking clearly. Alice she is not mad at you, though she really does not remember you telling her about his transfer, are you sure that you did?"

Alice shook her head. "Positive. Absolutely positive."

"Well she said it doesn't matter how long he stays; he is welcome here for as long as he needs it or the fifteenth of July, whichever comes first."

"No way am I staying here. Emmett, I'm sleeping on your couch until I figure something else out."

Rosalie shook her head. "No you're not. She said if you do she'd come drag you back here. She doesn't even know why she got so upset and promises that Dr. Jekyll will return by the morning. If you leave, she'll only feel worse."

Alice nodded. "Seriously Edward, please stay. She's been having horrible mood swings lately, this will pass by morning and she'll feel awful if she thinks she ran you off.

I scrubbed my face. "Fine, but one more blow up like this and I'm outta here."

Alice nodded. "I'll pack for you."

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**AN:**

**So, what did you think? Maylin loved it so much; she started begging for Chapter 6 right away. **

**Was it what you expected? Better than you expected? Why don't you tell us, and while you're at it, let us know what **_**your**_** favorite flower is - reviews get a teaser from Chapter 6. **

**As always, thank you so much for your continued reading, reviews, faves, alerts, and support. We really appreciate it!**

**Love, **

**S32 & TG**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN**

**Love and thanks to Aruni, who offers her wisdom, and our Red Pen Goddesses Maylin and AzureEyed1. And also for the love, laughter and support from the BBs in UUville.**

**Songs for Chapter 6:**

"**I Will Follow" – U2 (the Old) **

"**Sweetest Thing" – U2 (the New)**

**TwirlGrrl defines Old and New as anything before and after The Joshua Tree - The end of one era, and the beginning of the next.**

**See you at the bottom!**

**Rated M for language and possible future, well, you know. If you're not old enough to buy mature rated materials, you shouldn't be reading this (and your parents should install Net Nanny.)**

**Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight, _obviously._**

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**Bella**

A noise from downstairs woke me on Sunday morning. It was still quite early, and not quite seven o'clock. I rolled onto my side and shoved my hand under my pillow, immediately yanking it back out again with a hiss. I touched the gauze that wrapped my hand and remembered how gently Edward had cleaned and bandaged it.

Almost immediately, those pleasant thoughts were washed over with embarrassment, as I remembered my emotional outburst. I groaned, rolled onto my back and threw my arm over my eyes.

"Crap." I sighed

I really wanted to pull the covers back over my head and hide away from having to deal with how I'd behaved last night. Seeing Edward this morning would be embarrassing, but it was unavoidable; my traitor bladder was forcing me out of bed.

I crept from bed, careful to avoid the spot on the floor that always creaked, and padded quietly to my bedroom door. I cracked it open and could hear that Edward and Alice were both already up and talking in the kitchen downstairs. Not exactly talking, I could tell; they were whispering, and presumably about me. I swallowed the passing feeling of irritation and acknowledged that I'd be talking about me too if I were them.

In the bathroom I took in my appearance. The wild hair, a wrinkled sundress that I'd obviously slept in, and gauze wrapped hand. I did my best to tame my hair and finally pulled it back into a loose ponytail. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and put on fresh deodorant. I supposed that if he was living here, he'd get to see the good, bad, and ugly.

Dinner was good, I was bad, and what I was looking at in the mirror was definitely ugly. I'd covered all my bases.

I opened the door and walked downstairs, careful to make enough noise to alert them that I was coming. When I came around the corner, they were both sitting at the bar. Edward was reading the newspaper, and Alice was working on her laptop.

My nerves got the better of me, and when I tried to speak it came out as a whisper. "Morning."

Edward folded down his paper and beamed at me with a ridiculous over the top smile. "Well good morning sunshine!"

His attempt at humor was appreciated, because did succeed in taking the edge off of things. Alice tried to hide her smile. I huffed and smirked at him while I poured myself a cup of coffee. I got my cream and sugar and leaned against the counter sipping my coffee. When I finally looked up I found Alice and Edward both looking at me expectantly.

I sighed, knowing I owed them both an apology. Without lifting my eyes from my coffee I mumbled, "Sorry about last night you guys."

He squinted at me and turned, leaning out towards me and cupping his ear, as if he couldn't hear me. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. What was that?" Alice groaned and elbowed him.

I rolled my eyes again and gave an exaggerated sigh. "I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to fly off the handle. You really are welcome to stay here. I mean, we've got the place until the middle of July anyway, so you may as well stay."

Edward finally dropped the humor and grew serious. "Are you sure Bella? I really don't want to impose."

I shook my head quickly. "You're not. With Alice moving out it'll be good to have company for a while. Besides, I need to start looking for a new place too. Maybe we could look together."

He nodded. "Okay, sounds like a plan."

Alice gave me a small smile of appreciation, and then we all sat there in awkward silence. It seemed like no one knew what to say, so I turned to the refrigerator and started pulling out eggs, cheese, a green pepper, and some ham. "Have you guys eaten yet? I'm making omelets."

"Oh no, not with that hand you don't." Edward was shaking his head, adamantly. "Doctor's orders, remember? Clean and dry."

I looked at him with annoyance. "Did you learn to cook while you were living in Chicago Edward? Because I seem to remember how the gifted doctor couldn't make a sandwich."

I grinned as I remembered Christmas, two years ago; the Christmas before the New Year's party. How Alec went with his family on a ski trip to Colorado, leaving me happily in Forks with Charlie and the Cullens. Carlisle had already accepted a position at Harborview in Seattle that fall, but Esme had insisted on one last Christmas in the house in Forks before they put it on the market for sale.

We had all gone out the first morning in town to find the Christmas tree. It was a cold thirty degree morning, and it took almost four hours to find a tree that everyone could agree on. Emmett and Carlisle got right to work anchoring it in the tree stand, and the girls started unpacking the decorations. That left Edward to make lunch, and after the brisk morning, he attempted to make grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Unfortunately, he had misunderstood Esme's instructions and buttered both the inside and outside of every piece of bread, resulting in the greasiest, soggiest, butter soaked sandwiches. Not to mention, also burned.

Alice and I both giggled when Edward rolled his eyes. "No, I'm still not the best in the kitchen, but I can probably chop some vegetables without slicing my hand open."

He arched a challenging eyebrow at me as he slid the knife out of my hand and pointed at his abandoned seat with it. "You give directions and I'll do the work. Sit."

I smirked at him but took my seat anyway, because truthfully, my hand throbbed.

While Edward started chopping the peppers and onions, he looked at me. "So Emmett invited us all over to watch the game today. You'll come too, right?"

I shrugged. "Sure, I guess so."

He didn't look up when he added, "I'm sure he wouldn't mind if Alec came too."

I looked at Alice with confusion. She shrugged at me, and then looked back to Edward, "Didn't I tell you that they broke up?"

Edward's head snapped up and he looked at me with arched eyebrows. "You did? When was that?"

I swallowed my sip of coffee. "Several months ago."

It looked like he was trying to stifle a smile by chewing on the inside of his cheek.

Alice muttered something under her breath. I caught the words, _"Won't fucking leave her alone."_

I glared at her. She caught it and jutted her chin out and widened her eyes before whispering, "What? It's true."

Edward was looking back and forth between the two of us as he whipped the eggs. "Well, I'd say I was sorry to hear that, but I'm not. You deserve a lot better than that Neanderthal."

"He wasn't a Neanderthal Edward. And we were together a long time, so please don't you start either."

Edward eyed me for a minute. "Is this one of those, we're 'taking a break', but not really broken up type things?" He used finger quotes for emphasis.

I shook my head. "No. We broke up. I haven't seen him in months."

Alice snorted into her coffee next to me. Edward's eyes shifted to her and then back to me.

"I haven't" I was starting to get irritated, but Alice wasn't backing down and she pursed her lips and arched an eyebrow. "Well, obviously I'm not counting the couple of times that he stopped by, but that's his choice, not mine. I haven't spent any actual time with him."

Alice saw this as an opportunity to recruit another person to her cause. "But he still calls her every single day."

I rolled my eyes and gritted my teeth. "So? It doesn't mean I actually take the calls."

"Most of the time."

"And when I do talk to him I'm polite, but firm. He knows it's over."

Edward placed his palms down on the counter. "Bella, guys like him only hear what they want to hear. Maybe you're being too polite, and he's not getting the message. Do you want me to talk to him? I know how to speak Neanderthal. I'll make sure he gets it." He sounded way too enthusiastic.

I glared at him this time. "No. And stop calling him that."

"If it were up to him, you would have been chained to the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant by now."

"For fucks sake Edward! Can't you shut up? I don't want to fucking talk about it! God! You can be such a pigheaded ass!" I jumped off the stool and stomped to the bathroom and slammed the door.

**Edward**

Alice heaved a sigh and whispered to me. "See what I mean? I don't have the foggiest idea what is going on with her."

I glanced at the wake left by Bella's hasty retreat and cringed.

We'd been sitting and talking about Bella behind her back for nearly an hour now, not that it was intentional. I'd awoken this morning freshly determined to get out of Dodge. In fact, I had laid awake most of the night convincing myself that living here was the worst possible idea.

Unfortunately, when I came downstairs and shared my plans with Alice, she immediately started trying to convince me otherwise. She didn't have me convinced to stay here as much as she had me convinced that there was something going on with Bella, and Alice didn't have a clue what it was. In fact, she was quite concerned about her best friend and was hoping that my being here would somehow help Bella out of whatever funk she'd been in for the past however many months.

We sat in silence until we heard Bella start the shower. I finally exhaled. "I don't know Alice. She obviously doesn't want me here."

"Yes, she does Edward, more than that, she needs you here. Believe me when I say that what you just witnessed has nothing to do with you, and everything to do with her. She's been moody and irritable and bordering on irrational for months now, and I can't believe that it's all because of a damn sinus infection."

"And tell me again why I want to live with her? Because we're off to a really fun start." I said, full of sarcasm.

The fact is, I did want to stay, especially now that I knew she and Alec weren't together anymore. I couldn't help but smile over that news. But my own ego wasn't going to let me stay if Bella was only putting up with me out of pity.

"Because it's free and you have nowhere else to go right now?"

"Nope, sorry, I love Bella as much as the rest of you, but I suck at the whole hostile living situation. I think it would be better for everyone if I found someplace else. Ask Garrett what it was like to live with me the first year of college. Hell you should know, you grew up with us. On our best of days, Bella and I only annoyed the hell out of each other. Imagine what I'll put her through when she's so obviously irrational. I'll just take a short term lease somewhere, I can afford it."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Edward, would you actually do anything to deliberately and seriously hurt her?"

"No, of course not! I tease her and joke around. Maybe as a kid I took it a little too far, but no, I'd never really try to hurt her. I love her like a sist- well not a sister really, but she's a really good friend."

Alice giggled, "Like a really good friend that happens to look pretty hot in a bikini?"

I glared at her, "Alice, you swore you would never bring that up again."

She laughed, "Oh, come on, it's happened to everyone at some point or another."

"Alice, drop it."

"What? It was funny. Everyone would think so."

"Everyone wouldn't think so because no one is ever going to hear about it. Right?"

She gave a jerk of her shoulder and smiled evilly.

"You wouldn't dare."

"I'm sure Garrett would love to get his hands on this little nugget of information."

I tilted my head. "How do you know I never told Garrett?"

She leaned her head right back at me, calling my bluff, then raised one arched eyebrow. She pursed her lips, and I folded with a sigh.

I stirred the onions and peppers, and when I looked back at Alice she was smiling at me, waiting. When our eyes met she raised her eyebrows again in the nonverbal "Well?"

My jaw fell open. "You can't be serious."

"Yup." She said simply.

I narrowed my eyes in fury. I could not believe she was going to dangle it over my head like this.

During the trip to Hawaii, in the days following the jelly fish incident, Bella and Alice steered clear of the ocean. Unfortunately, it didn't mean that they stayed out of the water. It was one of those afternoons when Alice came back up to the condo, and caught me watching Bella lying by the pool in a bikini. It was the most embarrassing moment of my adult life, and Alice knew it. No one wants to be caught sporting wood while watching their sister's best friend. It was just so… _Fast Times at Ridgemont High_.

"What do you want?" I growled through clenched teeth.

"Stay."

I gaped at her. "Or you'll tell Garrett? Are you fucking kidding me? You're going to blackmail me into staying here with something so, I don't know, juvenile?"

"Hey, you're the one who wants to keep it a secret." She giggled. "Look, she spends every day sleeping or watching daytime TV. And do not repeat this because she'd kill me if I told anyone, but she hasn't been able to write. I don't even think she's trying anymore. She's got six months, a ton of work to do, and zero motivation. She needs someone to get her out of the house and force some life back into her. I can't do it because I can't be here all the time. You've always managed to either make her laugh or piss her off, but at least she'll be awake and challenged. She's a freaking zombie right now."

I shook my head again. "Alice, if she's in a funk now then you know living with me will drive her straight to bat-shit crazy."

"No it won't" Alice giggled as I scowled at her. "You're all grown up now. You know her buttons and how to push them, but you'll figure out when to back off too. You'd never hurt her deliberately. I think the real reason you don't want to stay here is your pride."

"My pride?"

"Yes. Your pride. When you push her, she pushes back. She's had your number more times than anyone else I've ever known. I think she intimidates you." She put a hand over my arm. "Trust me, there's nothing intimidating about her now."

As I was plating the omelets, I realized Alice had a point. Bella did intimidate me sometimes. She could call me out on my bullshit like no one else ever had. I just didn't know if living with her right now was such a good idea. What if I pushed her too far, or too hard, she seemed so fragile right now. We heard the shower turn off upstairs; both of us looked up towards the ceiling.

She finally set her coffee cup on the counter and turned to me with a whisper. "Look, Alec's just waiting to take her back and I think she's barely holding out. He's not the worst guy in the world, but he's definitely not right for her. He wants a good little wife to cook and clean up after him, not someone who's independent and has her own career. If she goes back to him, I know she'll never write again. All he does is tell her everything she _can't_ do. My opinion? He's the reason she's in this funk. He made her doubt herself."

And there it was. I don't know if Alice knew that she'd just laid down the straight flush, but it was the perfect hand to play. No way was I going to sit back and watch her go back to him. Not if I had anything to say about it. By the time we finished our breakfast I'd made my decision.

I was opening my mouth to tell her I would stay, but heard Bella's light footsteps coming down the stairs. I turned back to the newspaper and Alice hopped off her stool. She rinsed her coffee mug, and as she rounded the corner to head upstairs she passed Bella with a small smile.

She tiptoed nervously into the kitchen, so I tossed her a quick smile and slid her plate forward. "Sorry. I'll work on keeping my opinions to myself."

Bella sighed. "It's okay. You didn't mean any harm. It's not like I didn't know how you felt about Alec. And you didn't say anything that wasn't true."

I went back to the paper again while Bella ate her omelet. I was looking through the real estate section and she noticed. She nodded towards it. "Find anything good?"

I shrugged. "Depends on what you're looking for."

Bella nodded. "Are you looking at apartments or homes?"

I glanced at her. "Both actually. In a perfect world, I'd be looking at a home, but on my salary, I'm probably going to have to rent, unless I take a chunk out of my trust, which I'm not ready to do yet. Besides, I don't know what the long term holds. I'll probably just rent until I decide if I like Seattle Grace. I've only got a couple years in my residency left. Then I could go anywhere." I had no idea why I threw that all out there. I just felt like I needed to tell her that my options were open.

Bella snorted. "I don't think I'd tell them that. Isn't that the point of your residency? That you'll continue to work there when you're finished? I don't think they'd be impressed with your cavalier attitude, you know?"

She was absolutely right, and if it were just me, then I had no intentions of looking anywhere outside Seattle Grace, but if I had a wife and family, well, then I'd go where I was needed and I'd hardly call that cavalier. She knew me well enough to know that I took decisions like that very seriously and I resented the suggestion that I didn't. "I don't have a cavalier attitude."

"_I'll just rent until I decide if I like Seattle Grace_'" Bella said in a mocking tone. She arched her eyebrows and looked at me, "That's pretty cavalier Edward."

That rubbed me the wrong way. "Oh, you're one to talk Bella. I mean really, how is that book coming along anyway?"

Her head snapped back up from her plate. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're judging my attitude about my long term employment options before I've even finished my residency. And after you've just taken an advance on a book, that from what I understand, you aren't even working that hard on."

"Shut up Edward. You don't know anything about that."

"I know you've been so busy watching soap operas that you just asked for an extension."

It was at that moment that Alice bounced around the corner. "We should probably get going if we're going to leave on time. Bella, I'm going to stop at the store on the way, do you want to ride with us?"

Bella jumped off her stool and as she flew past Alice she glared at her and spit through clenched teeth, "Bitch."

Before Alice could say anything, Bella shouted over her shoulder. "Give Em and Rosalie my regrets, but I won't be able to make it today. I've got too much writing to do. I wouldn't want anyone to think I'm lazy or anything."

Alice turned to me with narrowed eyes. "What. Did you. Do?"

I groaned and dropped my head in my hands. "Alice. I'm sorry. I was an asshole. Again."

"Edward! You told her what I said about the book? I told you that was a secret! Dammit!"

"I'll go talk to her and apologize." I started toward the stairs, but Alice blocked me with two hands on my chest.

"No. You've done quite enough. We need to just give her some space. Get your coat, maybe she'll come later."

I was still thinking about pushing past her when she gave my chest a shove. "Go Edward. Anything you do now will just make it worse."

By the time we arrived at Emmett's, I couldn't concentrate. I only half paid attention to the game and any conversation participation was half hearted at best. I used the exhaustion and jet lag excuse repeatedly, resulting in strange looks from Emmett, and pity from everyone else. My heart was back at the townhouse, wishing I could apologize to Bella.

Alice and I arrived back at the townhouse after ten o'clock. As soon as we walked through the door, Alice immediately started sweeping the house with her eyes.

"She hasn't gone anywhere. Her purse is still on the bench and her keys are on the hook

"So, maybe she put them back?"

"She never puts them back."

"Oh." I said, and watched Alice walk into the kitchen and pick up a plate from the sink. She inspected it and then shook her head.

"She hasn't eaten either."

"Since breakfast? That was like fourteen hours ago. Why wouldn't she eat? You don't think she's that upset, do you?"

Alice shook her head. "No, she probably fell asleep again."

Then her eyes fell on a pair of running shoes that had been left by the door and she smiled. She turned to me beaming. "She went for a run."

I nodded slowly, not understanding the significance. "Okay?"

"She hasn't run in months."

"I don't know, maybe it's nothing. But I can't help but wonder… I mean, Edward, you haven't seen her. She's been a vegetable. She just sits around and does nothing. So, yeah, I can't help but think that going for a run is at least something. Even if it was because she was so pissed off at you that she didn't know what to do with herself."

Alice looked like she'd just gotten a new puppy. "Edward, she used to always run when she was angry, or frustrated, or had writer's block. It's Bella's way of processing. I don't know when or why, but she just stopped. It was some time before she broke up with Alec though, and I kept waiting to see if she'd pick it up again, but she didn't. She just turned into this couch potato."

"Hmm. Well, don't read too much into it Alice. She just went for a run, that's all."

"I know, but do you know why she was so fast in high school?"

"Why?"

"Because you pissed her off all the time." Alice smiled, and then turned and walked out of the kitchen.

I rolled my eyes, and followed her, "Wait, what does that mean?"

Alice started up the stairs, and without turning back said, "Good night Edward."

**Bella**

I blinked against the morning sunlight and stretched. I stared at the ceiling, disoriented; something felt off. I thought for a minute but couldn't put my finger on why I felt so confused. What was wrong?

When I realized I was still dressed in my yoga pants and t-shirt, I realized I'd never gotten ready for bed the night before. I looked at the alarm clock and it was already nine fifteen, but I couldn't remember what time I'd gone to bed last night.

With a sense of uneasiness, I lay in bed and tried to recall everything that had happened yesterday. I'd gotten into yet another argument with Edward. What was that, like the third one in less than twenty four hours that he'd been here? He could be so damn frustrating!

So I'd gone to my room to escape him, but what happened after that? My memories seemed distant and cloudy, like I was trying to remember the events after a night of drinking.

I had tried writing for about an hour, but grew anxious. The book was eating away at me like a festering wound. I knew I was trying to prove Edward wrong, because his words didn't only irritate me, they hurt me. But when I really tried to focus it still wasn't coming.

I remembered throwing my notebook against the wall in a fit. I couldn't get myself to calm down. I was frustrated, aggravated, and remembered crying. I started pacing throughout the house, wishing Edward was still there so that I could pick a fight with him.

That's when I decided to go for a run. I was on the track team in high school; it was the only sport that didn't involve much coordination or swinging something. I only had to focus on putting one foot in front of the other, which I managed to do pretty well; I was fast.

After I graduated, I kept running because I found it therapeutic. I hadn't been out on a run in months, maybe even a year I realized with surprise. But today it seemed like a good way to burn off my anxiety.

I grew winded really quickly, even having to sit down on a bench when I'd gotten dizzy. So I finally walked home, resting a couple of times on the way. By the time I'd gotten home I was exhausted and sweaty, but felt calmer. I refilled my water bottle and sat down at the computer to free-write while I cooled off.

Free-writing is an exercise where you close your eyes and ignore structure, punctuation, and spelling, just letting your mind run away. After nearly an hour of sitting in front of my computer with my eyes closed, allowing anything that popped into my head to flow out, I walked away still frustrated. I'd been unable to pull my mind away from Edward long enough to come up with anything useful.

I felt sticky, and a little chilly, and my muscles had started to tighten, so I decided to hit the shower. By the time I was finished showering, I could hardly keep my eyes open. The free writing document was still open on my screen, so I decided to close it up in case anyone came home while I was sleeping. I always saved them because you never know what you might decide to come back to.

Just before I clicked the button to close the document, I re-read one of the lines and froze.

_I'd forgotten how beautiful Edward's eyes are. Green like a Christmas tree with gold twinkle lights. _

_Privileged. Spoiled sexy, beautiful. _

I sighed in irritation because all of my thoughts that I tried so hard not to articulate were right there in front of me. I closed the document and snapped the laptop closed. I crawled into bed.

I'd slept for almost eighteen hours again, I was a little freaked out. I realized that the house was completely silent and was struck with a moment of irrational fear of leaving my room. It felt like I was going to open my door and walk out of my bedroom and into another house, like something out of _The Twilight Zone_. I swallowed the feeling down and wrote it off as too much sleep.

With stiff muscles I shuffled to the door. The apartment was eerily quiet and both bedroom doors and the bathroom door were open. I listened for any signs of someone from downstairs, but there was only silence. I made a quick stop in the bathroom before heading to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. Alice and Edward were nowhere to be seen, but the coffee was still hot; thank you thermos carafe. I sipped on my coffee and leaned against the counter. I was groggy and stiff so I decided to take a shower to loosen my muscles, my third in a day. I fought dizziness and nausea while I was showering and realized that I needed to make sure I ate more often.

I changed into a clean pair of shorts and tank top and headed to the kitchen for a refill on my coffee. I walked right past Rosalie's room and didn't notice the figure standing just inside the bedroom door. I poured my coffee and got cream and sugar, but decided to nibble on some crackers to settle my stomach first.

That's when I noticed the classified ads that Edward had been looking at still open on the counter. I decided to have a look and see if I could find anything good. When I turned to move around the bar stools I screamed and dropped my coffee mug when I saw the person standing just a few feet away from me in the kitchen.

"Jesus Edward! You scared the shit out of me!"

"Sorry! You walked right past me in the hallway. I thought for sure you were still pissed at me. I had no idea that you didn't see me!"

I tried to ignore the sweaty muscled shoulders under his tank top and running shorts. Obviously he'd been out for a run. "No, I didn't. When did you get back?" Together we started mopping up the mess I'd made.

"While you were in the shower. I was coming to apologize about yesterday. I was an asshole."

My pulse was slowly returning to normal. I waved him off. "Meh, I had no right to call you cavalier. And what Alice said about the book is true. I did get an extension, but obviously I'm a little defensive about it." My voice caught as I nearly started crying again.

We were still crouched down over the spilled coffee when Edward must have noticed the hitch in my voice. His emerald eyes focused on me and I felt my face heat. He ran his hand up my arm to my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Shit Bella, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have criticized. I don't have any idea how to be creative like that. It's got to be a lot of pressure to come up with something so completely original. But you're so talented, the words will come."

"Edward, I've been trying for almost a year. They aren't coming." I wiped at my eyes.

"Well, you got the extension, right? Maybe you need to take the pressure off for a while."

"Yeah, that's what I've been thinking. I can take a couple of weeks to focus on the wedding, finding a new place to live, moving, and then buckle down and bust out the book. I need to step away from it; if there's one thing I know, I can't force it."

Edward smiled. "I think that's a good plan. So listen, I need to shower. I've got a meeting at Seattle Grace to square away some paperwork before I start in July, but when I get home, let's make a list of apartments and houses. We can start looking tomorrow. Deal?"

I nodded, smiling. "Okay, deal. "

"Good. I'm going to go shower." He winked at me and walked back out of the kitchen.

An idea hit me and I called after him. "Hey! I was thinking about making French toast. Would you like some?"

He smiled warmly, "Sure. That sounds great Bella."

While Edward showered, I made my famous apple French toast. Edward had seconds and thanked me several times. We chatted over breakfast about the meeting at the hospital. He seemed apprehensive about it.

"Well, you know my Dad went to UC in Chicago too, right?"

"I think I knew that, but I forgot, why?"

"Well, I was sort of on this path, following in his footsteps. I felt good about going to his alma mater, and my advisor even trained with him, but I always felt like I had that hanging over my head."

"But Edward, you earned your way into that school. I'm sure he didn't pull any strings-"

"No, I know he didn't. But it doesn't mean that I didn't feel like I was walking in his shadow all of the time. You know every semester I would look up his grades to find out how he did in the classes I was taking to make sure I did better. I always ranked higher."

"Well, that seems a bit obsessive, but you've always been competitive."

He huffed a laugh. "Yeah, I have, haven't I? Well, I guess now that I've transferred here, to a position that my Dad gave me the lead on, I can't help but wonder…" he shrugged, apparently unable to put his finger on his concerns.

"Wonder why a hospital like Seattle Grace would be interested in taking on a brilliant doctor who ranks at the top of his class every semester and could have his pick of hospitals all over the country? Yeah, I really wonder why they'd do that."

"Alright, you don't have to be a smart ass Bella. I'm just saying, I worry about it, and my dad gave me the lead on the opening and he's very well known. I always felt like I was living in his shadow before, and now that I'm here, I'm afraid it will be even worse. I can just hear it now, Edward Cullen, that Edward Cullen, Carlisle's son. I've heard so much about you. Bella, you think I'm competitive? You have no idea what it's like during your residency. I just don't need anyone thinking I'm getting special treatment."

I stood up and started clearing our plates. "Edward, if anyone knows who your dad is, they probably will think that at first- it's human nature. But after you run surgical circles around them for a few weeks, they'll stop. You'll be fine."

Edward started to help me clean up, but I pointed towards the steps and made him go upstairs to get ready. When he came back down in a dapper looking suit, he took my breath away. I had never seen him looking so… I don't know… sophisticated, sexy, handsome, and just wow.

He picked up his keys and started for the door. "Okay, I'll see you later. You've got my cell if you need me to pick anything up, right?"

I nodded, and just before he walked out the door I shouted, "Hey Edward?" And then panicked because I didn't really have anything else to say, I just needed him to look at me one more time.

"Yeah?"

I stuttered, "Good luck, I mean, I know you don't need it, but good luck anyway."

Edward's smile reached his eyes, "Thanks. And who doesn't need luck? See you in a few hours." Then he winked as he closed the door.

_Like a Christmas tree with gold twinkle lights._

**Edward**

As I crossed the parking lot outside Seattle Grace's Emergency Room, an ambulance pulled up. ER staff jogged out to meet EMS, and together they pulled out the unconscious man inside. When EMS started rolling off stats, my brain immediately kicked into work mode. Mentally I started going through each lab and test that I would order, imagining what those results would be, and my final diagnosis.

I stood back and off to the side while the ER staff and EMS wheeled the man on the stretcher through the doors, and then followed in behind them. I missed that adrenaline rush and I'd only finished my last shift, and left Chicago less than a week ago.

Once inside, I wove through the hallways until I reached the lobby. I easily found a map with an office directory and then made my way up to the fifth floor, where administration was located. When I found the offices for Dr. Shelly Cope, I opened the door and was greeted by an attractive young female. She was young with average height, short light brown hair, wearing brown slacks, a cream top and carrying a small stack of files. She walked straight towards me and held out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Bree Howard, Dr Cope's assistant; Dr. Cullen I presume? I'll be meeting with you and Dr. Cope to get your paperwork started." She offered a firm, no nonsense handshake.

"We'll be meeting in Conference A. I'll let Dr. Cope know and she'll be in shortly." She motioned towards a hallway. "While we wait for Dr. Cope, can I get you anything to drink? Water? Coffee or tea?"

"Water would be fine. Thank you."

Bree nodded and walked off to a small room and then came back with several bottles of water and said with a smile, "Follow me Dr. Cullen."

I followed Bree to a small conference room around the corner and we took seats on opposite sides of the table.

She smiled warmly at me. "Well Dr. Cullen let me be the first to welcome you to Seattle Grace. I know Dr. Cope is very pleased to enroll you into our residency program; transfers don't happen often, and when they do it's always a pleasure to bring someone in with a fresh perspective. It raises the bar for everyone in the program."

I held up one hand. "Please call me Edward."

She gave a quick nod and a knowing smile. "Does Dr. Cullen sound a bit like your Dad still?"

There it was; the very first person I sat with and I was already being confronted with by my Dad's presence.

"Something like that."

She must have sensed my discomfort, though, because she blanched and then looked at me seriously. "I apologize, Edward; I didn't mean to offend you. I just meant that I want to look for my mother every time someone calls me Ms. Howard. She's the head of Human Resources at PEMCO. Obviously, dealing in medical insurance, we interact more often than I would have thought."

I nodded, but couldn't ignore the knot in my stomach.

Bree paused for a moment before she continued. "Listen, if it makes a difference, I don't think Dr. Cope has connected you and your father. He originally heard about the opening from me at the Harborview Golf Outing; my fiancée is on staff there and we sat at the same table. Your application came through the standard channels, and was reviewed just like the rest of the top 10 resident candidates. If your father tried to call in any favors or pull strings, I would have heard about it and I never did."

I liked Bree immediately.

"Thank you Bree. Honestly, that was nagging at me. It's good to know that I don't have to worry about that."

The rest of the meeting was uneventful. I met Dr. Cope briefly before she had to run off and tend to an emergency surgery, and just as Bree had said, she hadn't connected the dots between my father and myself. We finished the paperwork and a resident named Braden gave me a tour. He moved fast, talked faster and tested my knowledge and experience at every corner. For the most part, I felt prepared and knowledgeable. There were some areas where the technology was better and newer at Seattle Grace, and others where it wasn't. Either way, it wasn't much different than Chicago; both were top teaching and research hospitals.

By five thirty I was thoroughly excited about my decision to move to Seattle. Hell, I couldn't imagine anything that could make things better. Bella was surprisingly single, the hospital was amazing, the chief was cool, level-headed, and didn't know anything about my father. When she did learn of our familial connection, I was confident that it would be little to no influence in her expectations of me. I was positively floating when I walked in the front door of the townhouse to the delicious smell of sautéing peppers and onions along with the distinct smell of grilling meat. I was instantly ravenous and my mouth immediately started watering.

"Hey." Bella called from the patio by the grill.

I walked to the living room where I could see her through the screen door. She was turning something on the grill. "Hey, can I give you a hand?"

She shook her head with a smile. "No thanks, I'm almost done here." She closed the lid on the grill and stepped back through the patio door. "They need another five or ten minutes though."

I followed her to the kitchen where she was stirring some peppers and onions that were sautéing in a pan. She was eyeing me carefully, obviously looking for indicators of how the meeting had gone. I deliberately stayed as neutral as possible as I loosened my tie and undid the top button on my shirt. I pulled out two Sam Adam's, and after a nod from her, popped them both open and handed one to Bella. I leaned casually against the counter and took a swig.

Bella finally lost patience and sighed, rolling her eyes and smiling simultaneously. "So?"

I sighed back, feeling playful and drawing the moment out. "So…I'm all set, she seemed to like me. I start on the first of July at Seattle Grace Hospital."

"You said she liked you, who's _she_?"

Edward nodded. "Dr. Cope, Shelly Cope. She's the Chief of Staff at Seattle Grace. I think I made a good impression."

Bella giggled. "Well duh, of course you would. You would only make a better impression with a gay man."

I squinted at her implication that Dr. Cope was a person of such poor character and it was in such glaring contrast to my actual opinion of her it was offensive. "Are you suggesting I made a good impression because of my physical appearance? For Christ sakes Bella! She was like fifty, and married, and the Chief of Staff! And that's completely inappropriate!"

Bella shrugged and giggled again. "I was just kidding, sorry. I really didn't mean anything by it. But, seriously, I knew it would go well! Didn't I tell you?"

Edward nodded. "You did, and you were right. I really don't think the connection to my Dad had any impact whatsoever on my getting the transfer."

"Hang on. I've got something." She ran up to her room and returned with a bottle of champagne. "I picked this up today. I thought we'd toast to a fresh start."

I reached for the champagne. "Hang on, not so fast." I took it and held it out of her reach. "I'm still in the middle of my residency; it's hardly a fresh start, just a little closer to home now. Let's keep this on ice for a little while yet."

"But – "I held up a finger to stop Bella from interrupting.

"Bella, I think we should hold off until both of us are back up on our feet. I've still got two years of grueling long hours ahead of me. Let's keep this bottle and when I'm gainfully employed and you've finished your book, then we'll open this champagne."

Bella groaned and rolled her eyes. "Edward, that book might be years away from finished or not ever happen; I could be a one hit wonder."

"Bella, I've been watching you write short stories, and creative essays for almost twenty years now. The words will come. And once they start, you won't be able to stop them. Then we'll celebrate. Besides, I'm a firm believer in not counting my chickens before they've hatched."

Bella narrowed her eyes at me. "Fine."

I continued. "And another thing, can we just sort of start over? This has really gotten off on the wrong foot, true to our history, but I really don't want it to be like this between me and you."

Bella nodded and held up her beer. "I can drink to that. To starting over."

I smiled back at her. "To good company."

Bella smirked as we clinked our bottles. "Shouldn't we see if we can make it through the evening without strangling one another before we start using terms like 'good company'?"

Several hours later we were sitting on the living room floor on either side of the coffee table, surrounded by empty Sam Adams bottles and scanning through each other's iPods. We had already debated old vs. new U2, if rap should be considered music or not, had MTV ruined the music industry, and whether or not singers who don't write their own music should be taken seriously.

She was also helping me come up with a decent idea for a wedding gift for Emmett and Rosalie. She told me that Alice was mulling over commissioning a painting for their place or new camping gear that they could take on the annual two-week camping and hiking vacation they went on every year. She didn't know what Jasper was going to do other than running the informative website that he'd put together for their wedding. I only had one semi-decent idea, but I wasn't thrilled with it. Bella, on the other hand, was pretty excited about her gift, and was holding out on telling me what it was.

I decided to play dirty. Although she's twenty-eight now, I've known since she was nine years old exactly where to tickle her to make her beg for mercy; and I went to town on her knees until she caved.

Bella was having a video made for them. She had collected old video footage and still shots from both my parents and Rose's, and was having a video edited together. What an incredibly personal and creative idea. My Mariner's season ticket idea paled in comparison.

We had just started playing some version of War involving cards stuck to our foreheads, that I swear Bella made up and kept changing the rules of, when Alice walked in. We were debating, but laughing; not yelling. Alice observed us in silence for a minute before finally speaking.

"Um, hi?"

We looked up at the same time with open smiles. Bella grinned with the eight of clubs stuck to her forehead. "Hey! Edward's meeting went well so we were celebrating. I put the chicken, cheese and sour cream in the fridge, but there's plenty of chipotle too."

Alice looked back and forth between the two of us, and then did a slow circle to take in the rest of the room. She looked behind the chair, peeked out at the back patio, checked in the kitchen. That's when I couldn't take the curiosity anymore.

"Alice, what are you looking for?"

Her head popped back around the corner. "The bodies."

Bella and I both rolled our eyes and groaned.

* * *

**AN:**

**So, what did you think? **

**Old U2 or new U2; which do you prefer? Tell us and get an exclusive teaser of chapter 7. **

**Everyone else can look for teasers on The Fictionators Blog.**

**Update 11/16/09: Fictionators Blog + Twinnesse = FAIL. Sorry 'bout that. We were busting ass on the La Femme Noir contest deadline and missed the Fictionators deadline. We will try to update today or tomorrow though.**

**As always, thank you so much for your continued reading, reviews, faves, alerts, and support. We really appreciate it!**

**Love, **

**S32 & TG**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**

**Love and thanks to Aruni, who offers her wisdom, and our Red Pen Goddesses Maylin and AzureEyed1. And also for the love, laughter and support from the BBs in UUville.**

**Songs for Chapter 7:**

"**Low Rider" – War**

"**Brown Eyed Girl" – Van Morrison**

**See you at the bottom!**

**Rated M for language and possible future, well, you know. If you're not old enough to buy mature rated materials, you shouldn't be reading this (and your parents should install Net Nanny.)**

**Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight, _obviously._**

* * *

**Bella**

The groan slipped from my lips before I was even fully conscious. I rolled over away from the sunlit window.

"Ugh." My head was pounding. I'd taken Motrin before bed, but was glad I'd left the bottle on the nightstand. I reached for the bottle, shook out two, then after a second evaluation of my physical well-being, a third. I pushed myself upright, tossed the pills in my mouth and drank from the bottle of water that Edward had sent me to bed with the night before.

I smacked my lips and wondered if something could have crawled into my mouth and died during the night. Another couple of sips of water and I decided that something had definitely died; my ability to produce my own saliva. I shoved myself up off the bed and held onto the nightstand while I waited for the hangover dizziness to pass. Slowly I shuffled out to the hallway. Alice was in the kitchen humming along with some soft music she'd put on the stereo.

She popped around the corner. "Good morning Bella. How ya feeling?" She offered me a kind look of compassion.

"Ugh, like crap. But probably no worse than I should be feeling after drinking a half-dozen Sam Adams." I shook my head. "Is there coffee?"

Alice smiled. "Yep. Go wash up. I'll have a cup waiting for you when you're done."

"Thanks."

I stumbled to the bathroom where I washed my face, added a touch of deodorant, brushed my teeth, and threw my tangled mess of hair up into a messy knot on my head. When I shuffled back out to the kitchen Alice was happily bouncing around the bar and a cup of coffee, prepared to my liking, was waiting for me in front of one of the bar stools. I climbed up onto the stool and leaned over the counter.

"Thanks," I mumbled as I sipped the heavenly golden magic.

Alice is normally energetic and a happy morning person. In fact, it took quite a few years for us to strike a balance between my somber-at-best morning outlook and her natural, yet annoying, ready-to-conquer-the-world upbeat morning energy. Space and time was the best approach to managing our clashing moods. But this morning Alice kept eyeing me and flitting around offering to make me breakfast; which would have been a bagel and cream cheese at best. I finally sighed and narrowed my eyes at her.

"What's going on Alice?"

She flashed me her wide innocent eyes. "Nothing. I'm just... well... thank you Bella. For making an effort with Edward. He said he had a really good time last night. And no heads rolled, so I imagine that you were really on your best behavior because I know it can be hard for you sometimes. To be nice that is- to him, I mean. So... thank you." She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed impossibly hard for the tiny thing that she was.

I grunted, "I can be nice Alice, sometimes without much effort, even to Edward. But, yeah, we did have fun last night. It wasn't just me making an effort. He didn't insult me or talk down to me, so yeah, no heads rolled."

"Well I'm so glad. What a relief, I mean I was about to offer to pay for a hotel if you two had kept at it like you were."

I shook my head as I slid off the stool to make myself a bagel. "Me too. But I think we've found some common ground. In fact, we're going to go house and apartment hunting together."

Alice looked at me skeptically. "Really? You and my brother? In a car, together? Fighting over the radio? And who gets to drive? All day? I better start looking for vacancies."

"Well most of the day at least. Don't worry. We set ground rules to keep the potential violence to a minimum." I slid the bagel in the toaster and pushed the lever to begin toasting.

"Okay. Just try to be good, okay? And don't forget about lunch at 1:00 with Esme."

I rolled my eyes in exasperation. "Alice it will be fine- I promise, and no, I didn't forget lunch. Oh, but where are we meeting?"

Occasionally Esme liked to meet at their Club, which meant dressing up. I hated dressing up just for lunch, only to come right back home afterwards.

"Reno's"

Reno's? Reno's is a sports bar and restaurant; not your normal Esme type of place. Alice seemed to read my mind because she added "Edward picked it."

I nodded; thank you Edward. "Where is he anyway?"

"He went for his morning run. He should be back anytime. By the way, I've been wanting to ask you, how are you feeling? Any better now that the antibiotics have started?"

I thought about her question. This morning I had felt kind of crappy, but that was to be expected after all the beer, and it wasn't really any worse than it should be after a night of drinking. And yesterday had been pretty good; I'd even gotten some writing done during the afternoon while Edward was gone. I didn't know if it would lead to anything, but I was able to get some rough ideas outlined.

A slow smile crossed my face. "Actually, yeah, I am. Sunday was kind of funky still- pretty tired. I tried to go for a run, but got winded pretty fast and slept for a really long time again that night. But yesterday was a good day. I even wrote a little while Edward was gone to his meeting."

She ran around the counter and hugged me. "Well halleluiah! I am so glad; you had me worried girlfriend. Listen, I need to get going, okay, so you guys have fun today and I'll see you at lunch."

"See ya." I was digging in the refrigerator looking for the cream cheese as she closed the door. A couple of seconds later, as I was grumbling profanities at whoever hid the elusive cream cheese, I heard the door open and close again. "Forget something?"

"No. Looking for something?" The voice was much deeper and slightly winded.

"Oh! Sorry, I thought you were Alice. Yeah, you haven't seen the cream cheese have you?"

"Um, yeah, I sort of finished it this morning. So -"

"Dammit." I barked and slammed the refrigerator door closed.

Edward cleared his throat. "As I was saying, I finished it this morning, so I picked up more on my run. Here, if it's alright with you we could share it."

And that's when I finally turned around to see the man standing behind me holding out a family sized tub of cream cheese. He was wearing running shoes, running shorts, and like the previous morning, he was covered in a beautiful sheen of fresh sweat. Unfortunately for me, this morning he was shirtless. Slightly stunned, I stared at the chest that was serving as the backdrop to the cream cheese I had just been cursing over.

After what was hopefully not more than a second or two, but I couldn't be sure, because my mind had temporarily chugged to a stall, I snapped myself out of my daze and looked at Edward's face, all crooked smirk, one arched eyebrow, flushed, and damp hair hanging in his eyes. "Thanks. And sorry, I can be a little grumpy in the morning."

Still smirking, but now smiling too, he said, "I remember. And Alice reminded me."

I rolled my eyes. "So you still up for hitting the road with me today, grouchy and all?" I was working to avoid looking at him as he bent over in the refrigerator to get the orange juice. I kept chanting to myself: _Focus...__it's Edward...__focus...__just Edward...__focus... _

It was painfully obvious that there was a direct correlation between my intelligence and the amount and type of clothing Edward had on his body.

"Oh, why not. I need to get a shower first and check some emails, so how about we aim for ten o'clock?" He poured a glass of juice and started drinking it, adam's apple bobbing with each gulp.

I swallowed and silently chanted harder before answering. "Ten's good. Yeah, I need to shower too, so that should be good. Oh, any word from Garrett?"

We'd spent a good deal of time last night talking about Garrett. He was Edward's best friend and I met him six years ago when Alice and I flew out to Chicago to celebrate her twenty-first birthday. He truly was a great guy, we got along really well, and he even offered me a shoulder to cry on after Edward pissed me off in a big way.

Like most girls, a drunk, angry Bella usually results in a crying Bella. Garrett had tried to cheer me up, bought me a drink, a shot, and then called me out on my monster sized crush on Edward. I took the only position I could: denial, denial, denial, but I'd never believed that he bought it. Regardless he swore he'd never tell Edward since there was really no point as Edward had been dating Tanya at the time. I could tell that Edward would really miss him; it was the only real regret he had about leaving Chicago.

Edward showed me a text that he'd received earlier this morning. "He sent me this text this morning. Maybe you know what it means."

_**Its 5am. In Car. Lving early 2 go to Walnut Grove in BFE Minn. WTF is in Walnut Grove? K won't tell me**_

I laughed. "Walnut Grove? You don't know what's in Walnut Grove? Laura Ingalls Wilder?"

Edward still had a blank look on his face so I kept going.

"_Little House on the Prairie_? Come on! Alice and I used to watch it. Ma and Pa, the covered wagons."

His eyes widened in understanding. "Oh yeah! With that little bratty blonde girl…" He starts snapping his fingers trying to remember her name.

I nodded and grinned. "Nellie Olson."

"Yes! Oh my God, Kate's dragging him to the middle of nowhere to go visit the town? That's priceless! No wonder she wouldn't tell him where they were going."

Edward rinsed his glass and gave a quick jerk of his head towards the hallway, and presumably the empty shower. "Mind if I go shower first?"

I nodded as I chewed a bite of my bagel, thinking _please do, and come back dry and clothed or I can't get in a car with you. _

I could hear him laughing all the way up the stairs.

A while later I met up with Edward in the living room where we'd left our lists of possible apartments and rental properties. As the previous night had worn on I'd told Edward about my wish to find a little cottage in the woods and Edward talked about his dream house on the beach. The more we talked, the more research we did, and quickly found via online listings that there were a surprising number of homes available to rent. Apparently, what you can't sell, you rent.

So, with lists of apartments and homes, we were only left with one decision to make. Who would drive? We'd agreed that whoever drove couldn't control the radio. So if he drove then I ran the playlist.

I looked at him expectantly, "So should we flip a coin?"

"Actually I thought maybe I'd drive; it's a beautiful day."

Edward had rented a cute little red mustang convertible and I was about to agree when he continued talking.

"Plus the Tahoe could stand to save on the mileage."

I frowned and shook my head slowly. "You know, I almost went for it, but you had to go and insult the Tahoe. No deal, we flip a coin."

He rolled his eyes at me and dug into his pocket. "Fine, do you want to call it or flip it?"

"Heads" He flipped it and showed me the quarter; it was tails.

He grinned. "I drive. Grab a jacket, it may be pretty, but it might be a little on the cool side with the top down."

"Alright, and let me grab a hat."

I ran up to my room and came back downstairs with my favorite hat; it was a simple black baseball cap with a white F embroidered on the front. When his eyes grew wide and his jaw fell open in recognition I realized my mistake.

He stuck his hand out palm up and waved his fingers. "Give it to me."

"No."

"Its mine!"

"It is not yours. I've had it for ten years; it's mine."

"But it _was_ mine."

"How do you know that? Every guy on the team had the same hat. It could be Mike's."

He frowned at me, sighed, and crossed his arms. "Summer of '98, Fourth of July, La Push Beach. You dropped your sunglasses in the tide pools and you kept trying to shield your eyes with your hand so I loaned you my hat to keep the sun out of your eyes. You never gave it back."

I frowned. "Edward that was over ten years ago. You couldn't possibly know that this is the same hat."

He waved his hand again. "Gimme, I'll prove it."

I reluctantly took off my hat and handed it to him. He turned it over and folded down the headband to expose where the number thirteen was very faded, but still visible on the underside of the band. "If you write it here it doesn't rub off."

He grinned at me and tossed it back. "I'll admit though, I like it that you kept it all this time."

"It's just perfectly broken in." I lied. I knew damn well it was his hat and he was dead on the money with every single detail of that day.

He handed me the lists, and the newspaper. "You're the navigator, and don't forget your iPod."

I smirked quietly to myself, knowing the perfect song to start the day. I waited until we were on the main road before I plugged in the iPod and dialed up my first song choice. The light had just turned green and Edward was smoothly shifting through the gears on the manual transmission while I sat nervously waiting to see if he would think I was childish before the distinctive first few notes of _Low Rider_ started playing. Then I grinned happily as Edward burst out in laughter.

It was a good start to what turned out to be a very fun morning. Unsurprisingly Edward and I had a very different approach to looking for apartments and homes. I looked at the layout, the access, and the amenities while Edward looked at the level of maintenance, the color of the walls and carpeting, and security of the complex or neighborhood. It was the difference between being able to visualize what could be changed and what couldn't. I would spend months painting and finding the right area rugs; Edward would likely move in, unpack and be done.

The security and neighborhood became more of an issue when we were looking at the apartments on my list; I'm a single woman and couldn't afford as nice a place as he could. There was a downside to letting Edward drive; twice during the day I'd picked out an apartment and a house that Edward never even stopped at because he wholly objected to the idea of me living in the neighborhood or next door to the liquor store. He swore he even heard gunshots on the way to the second one, while I insisted it was just a car backfiring.

"Bella, you've got to raise your standards. You can't live alone in a place like this, you'll get robbed or assaulted the first month."

"Edward, I can't afford a better place than this. Maybe I'll get a dog or something."

"No. No way. There have to be better options. We just need to look a little further outside of the city for you. You don't have a commute to worry about like I do, so we'll just go find you a safe little cottage in the woods, just like you wanted."

"Uh huh, and are you going to install the moats and dragons to protect me?"

"No, but I might just get you a security system for Christmas."

His concern was actually a little endearing, if not a little bit on the controlling side.

"We'd better get on to Reno's, we're due there in a half-hour."

We got into a small spat on the way to Reno's because Edward took a wrong turn and when I tried to tell him he argued with me. However, he didn't know that Reno's had actually moved locations sometime during the last year and they were now two miles further up the road; a small detail that I didn't feel the need to share. I pouted and waited until he found the empty building.

"I told you."

"No, you told me I turned the wrong way, which I didn't. You could have told me that they moved."

"You weren't listening."

"You weren't being clear."

I smacked my forehead. "What's more clear than you need to go left?"

"Um, gee, I don't know, something like 'Oh by the way, they moved. You need to go left.'"

"You didn't ask, and you didn't give me a chance to explain. You just insisted that I was wrong. I've been living in Seattle for five years now, you'd think I'd know if you needed to go left or right." We were just pulling into the parking lot and were nearly fifteen minutes late. I took off my hat and tossed my hair to hopefully shake out the hat head.

"Well you could have volunteered that they moved while I'd been living in Chicago!" He shouted and slammed the door.

I followed him in a huff and glared at him as he held the door open for me. Esme and Alice were already seated and waiting for us. I slid into the bench as Edward bent to kiss Esme's cheek in hello. "Sorry we're late. Edward took a wrong turn."

He exhaled a breath as he slid in next to me. "Because someone didn't bother to tell me that Reno's moved and let me drive all the way to the old place."

"Because you were being a stubborn jackass and – "

"It's fine!" Esme cut me off with a firm tone and held up a hand to silence both of us. "I'm just glad you made it safely."

Alice shot us both a questioning look.

I mumbled an apology to Esme and then focused on my menu. Edward did the same and a tense quiet fell over the table.

The waitress came and took our orders and I asked for some water. The Motrin from that morning was wearing off and it was probably making me more irritable than the situation called for. I kept a small stash in my purse and dug out a couple.

Edward watched me and frowned. "What are you taking?"

"Motrin. You're giving me a headache." But I shot him a wry smile to tell him I was only kidding.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so stubborn. That was probably stereotypical male behavior refusing to take directions like that, huh?"

I chuckled. "It was pretty typical. Yeah, I really should have told you before you drove all the way down there."

Alice was watching us with raised eyebrows. "That's it? No bloodshed? Wow. You two really have grown up finally haven't you."

Esme even joined in. "I'm a proud mama."

After that lunch was fun. Esme had confirmed the Peapod cottages and ensured that there was a fire pit and working kitchen. We were to meet at the SeaTac airport at 2:30 on Friday and would depart on a small charter flight to Port Angeles to pick up Mike, Jessica, and Tyler before landing at Orcas Island. We should arrive at the cottages by around four o'clock.

It turned out that we could even email a list of supplies and groceries and the owners would stock the kitchen with everything we needed as long as we got the request in by noon on Wednesday. I told her that it wouldn't be a problem and Edward and I agreed that we would do it tonight.

We would, however, need to bring our own alcohol or purchase it on the island. There would be taxi vans waiting to pick us up at the Ferry, but then we wouldn't have a vehicle other than the four bikes that were at the cottages, so it would probably be easier to take it with us.

We tied up a few other loose ends and were just enjoying some idle chit chat when Edward's phone buzzed.

**Edward**

I glanced at my phone and saw who it was. "Garrett."

I was about to silence it and call him later when Alice chirped. "Oh answer and see where they are.

I glanced at Esme but she just nodded with a wide grin. She'd only met him a few times while visiting me in Chicago, but I knew she thought he was charming and funny.

I flipped open the phone. "Hey Garrett, how was Walnut Grove? Pretty hoppin' place?"

"Uh, no. Do you know why she dragged me there? To see some little house where some chick named Laura something lived like a hundred and fifty years ago. And guess what! It's not even fucking there anymore. The damn roof caved in on it and now there's just a sign that says this is where it used to be. Big ass waste of time."

I laughed. "Well where are you?"

"Um somewhere in Minnesota. So listen -"

I looked at my watch. "What? You've been on the road for almost eleven hours and you're still in Minnesota? How long were you in Walnut Grove?"

I could hear Kate start to laugh in the background. "We're not in Minnesota, we're in South Dakota."

"Nevermind, I guess we just crossed into South Dakota."

I frown, that's not much better. "Just?"

Kate shouts, "Edward, Garrett doesn't know what he's talking about, that was like three hours ago."

Garrett, "Oh, Sorry, I guess that was a while ago."

Clearly he didn't realize I could hear almost every word of what Kate was saying. Kate and Garrett start squabbling and I gave my mom and Bella a roll of my eyes and mouthed "Sorry". After a minute I had to interrupt, "Garrett?"

I heard Kate saying, "if you would pay attention to anything other than..." I couldn't hear the rest as he obviously covered the phone.

I cupped my mouth and shouted directly into the phone as quietly as I could. "Garrett?!"

"Oh sorry, what?."

"Are you driving?"

"No Katie is."

That was surprising; Garrett had been waiting weeks to drive my car. "You're letting Kate drive already?"

"Uh, yeah, she kept whining. Anyway, the reason I called - Ouch! Don't hit! You were a pretty hot shot baseball player in High School, right? The captain or some shit?"

"Yeah, why?"

"What was your number?"

I glanced at Bella out of the corner of my eye thinking this was a strange coincidence. "Why?"

"Just a game we're playing."

There's more rustling on the other end and I can hear Kate say "being ridiculous" followed by Garrett trying to shush Kate.

Kate says, "Don't shush me."

Garrett says, "Katie, just wait, I'll prove it. Sorry Cullen, what was your number?"

I sighed. Sometimes it was better not to know. "Thirteen, but why?"

"Okay, thanks."

"Wait, what are you trying to prove?"

Garrett didn't answer and when I looked at the phone's screen, it blinked _Call Ended_.

Everyone was looking at me with questioning looks on their faces, but Alice finally spoke for all of them. "What was that all about?"

I shook my head. "I have absolutely no idea."

Esme chuckled to herself. "He's always been such a character."

We finished our lunch and Bella and I headed out for a few last apartment stops before we headed home to make the meal list. Admittedly, I'd probably have an easier time finding a place than Bella would. Despite her book's best seller status, it was her first. She'd definitely earn better royalties after she completed her second book.

The first place we stopped at had been on my list, and I disliked it immediately. Bella had apparently read my expression and questioned everything. While she disagreed that the neighbors were loud, insisting she could barely hear the music blaring in the apartment just below, she had agreed with me that the kitchen was too small and outdated. She pointed out that I didn't cook, and she was right, but the apartment still didn't feel right.

Our last stop, at first seemed to have promise; downtown and within walking distance of the hospital. It was a chic and stylish contemporary with big floor to ceiling windows and an open floor plan. Bella found her way to the kitchen and spun around in the space smiling. It had a small galley style kitchen with stainless steel appliances and black granite countertops; certainly beautiful, but exactly what I'd had in Chicago.

As we were pulling out of the parking lot, Bella turned to me and huffed in apparent frustration, "Edward, I don't get it. What was wrong, exactly, with that last place? It seemed totally your style."

"Yeah, it probably was my style. In fact it was a lot like my place in Chicago. But I think I want to change my style a little bit."

"How so?"

I shrugged "I don't know I've always liked the contemporary stuff, but after two years in a hospital and operating rooms in particular, I kind of want someplace a little less… sleek, maybe?"

"Do you mean cold? Harsh? Sterile?"

"Yeah. I want someplace warm and comfortable- so that I don't feel like I'm still at the hospital. I really like your apartment, it's really…homey? Is that a good word?" I laughed nervously.

She laughed, "Our place? Interesting. Our place is a mix of Alice's Pottery Barn purchases and my hand-me-downs that I've refinished or repainted to make work. I'd call it an attempt at shabby chic, but once Alice moves out it'll just be shabby. Anyway, I can help you with decorating. But if you want something that reminds you of our place, then yeah, that place won't work."

By the time we finished the menu Bella was yawning non-stop so I offered to type up the list. She agreed, but made me promise not to send it until she could review it later.

"You don't trust me?"

She yawned and shook her head. "No, I don't trust myself. I'm too tired right now to make sure I thought of everything."

"Don't worry, I was kidding. Take a nap and you can look at it later."

She nodded, stretched and then curled up into a ball. I'm pretty sure she was asleep before I reached the top of the stairs. I typed up the list as promised, checked my email, and stretched out on my bed to do some reading. When I heard Alice come in downstairs I realized that I had dozed off for my own nap.

It was a little after seven and my stomach growled so I went downstairs to find Alice and see if Bella was up yet. She was still sleeping, but shivering, so I covered her with a blanket and turned to Alice.

"She's wiped. Why don't we go grab a pizza?"

She nodded and I left a quick note letting Bella know where we we'd gone just in case she woke. We snuck out the door and closed it quietly. I followed Alice down the stairs and to the Mustang. I honestly thought the red was a little pretentious, but they didn't have the black one that I'd reserved.

Alice stood in front of the car and seemed to be studying it. I waited, knowing she would have some kind of opinion on it. I wasn't prepared for the small amused smile that appeared.

"What are you thinking little sis?"

"You seem different."

"Because of the car?"

"Well that's definitely unexpected. I mean it's a red mustang convertible. I can see Emmett renting it, but I never would have picked it for you in a million years."

"Well if it matters, it's not what I reserved but all they had when I got there." I shrugged, like it didn't matter, but she was right, it was very unlike me, and not something I was entirely comfortable with.

She grinned. "I like it on you. Now, if I can get you to wear something other than the standard jeans, t-shirt and button down, we'll be making some serious headway." She waved one finger up and down my body to emphasize her point.

I looked down at what I was wearing. "What's wrong with it? It's comfortable."

"And boring."

I exhaled a sigh. "I tell you what, I actually do need to pick up some things before we go on the retreat. If you want to help me with that –"

She cut me off by bouncing up and down and clapping. "Definitely! I have a light day tomorrow. I'll do some recon and we can hook-up on Thursday. You just give me a list of what you need.

We climbed in and Alice abruptly changed topics, not giving me a chance to set limits or conditions. "How long has she been sleeping?"

"About two hours, but we were up late and she drank quite a bit last night."

Alice nodded thoughtfully.

She started giving directions to their favorite place and just as we pulled into the parking lot my phone rang. I glanced at it. "Garrett."

"Go ahead, I'll wait."

I flipped it open. "G! Where are you guys?"

"Oh, um, we're in Pierre, South Dakota. By the way, guess what's in South Dakota?"

"I don't know. What?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely nothing."

Kate said something in the background, but I couldn't hear her.

"Kate said we had to stop, because we're going to start into the Badlands soon and we need to drive through during the daylight. Should I be scared?"

I laughed. "Don't you know what the Badlands are?"

"Uh, no. Katie pretty much planned our route; I know we're going to see Mount Rushmore tomorrow, though."

"Cool, well take a camera. Listen, Alice is waiting for me. We're going to grab a pizza. Did you need something or were you just checking in?"

"Oh, yeah. Who did Bella go to prom with?"

"Seriously? I think it was some dude named Jake, why?"

"Oh." Garrett actually sounded disappointed.

"G, what are you doing? Why all the weird questions?"

"I'm not doing anything. I was just curious. Wait, did they ever go out? Did he play baseball too?"

I ran a hand through my hair in frustration. "I don't fucking know! Why does it matter?"

"Just ask Alice."

I exhaled in frustration and turned to Alice. "Didn't Bella go to her senior prom with that guy Jake Black?"

She looked just as confused as I was, arching one eyebrow in question. "Yeah, why?"

"I don't know. Garrett's up to something, but he won't tell me what. Did he play baseball?"

She shook her head. "Football."

I repeated it into the phone. "Football."

"Huh."

"Are you going to tell me what you are up to?"

"Did they date?"

I repeated the question to Alice and she shook her head no. "They were always just friends."

"No they didn't date- just friends. Garrett, seriously, what's with all the questions?"

"Nothing, I'm just telling Kate about everyone she's going to meet. She's a little nervous

Kate started shouting in the background. "Don't bring me into your crazy conspira…" Garrett covered the phone and the rest of her words were muffled.

He came back and quickly muttered. "Gotta go. I'll call ya tomorrow."

The line went dead.

I stared at the phone muttering "Don't want to know… don't want to know."

After we ordered our pizza, I played pinball while we waited and Alice sent a text to Jasper. He was going to meet us at the house. We decided to stop at a store to pick up some beverages since Bella and I had finished off the Sam Adams last night.

I decided to ask Alice for a suggestion. "What do you think she would like? Does she always drink Sam Adam's?"

"No, if we go out she might get a cocktail or shot. It really depends on her mood; I don't know if she has a favorite."

Well that was no help at all so I decided to stick with the beer to be safe. As an afterthought I decided to buy a six-pack of raspberry flavored water. I owed her a re-stocking on the beer, but she might not actually want to drink tonight.

When we got back to the house Bella was sitting up on the couch, but looked a little groggy like she hadn't been up for very long at all. She was holding her phone, but set it on the side table before she stood up to stretch.

I followed Alice into the kitchen. "Hey sleeping beauty! Glad you could join us."

She frowned at me, but I smiled and then so did she. As she stretched she arched her back and her t-shirt rode up, showing just a sliver of pale white skin. "Yeah, wow, sorry I didn't mean to crash for that long."

Her voice was raspy from sleep and her hair was wild and everywhere. I loved it.

I smiled at her. "No problem, I actually got a little shut eye myself. Are you hungry? We got a pizza, some cheese sticks and a Caesar salad."

She nodded. "Sounds good."

Alice glanced at Bella's phone. "Alec call?"

Bella looked from the phone to Alice and grimaced. "No actually, that was Charlie."

I glanced up. "Yeah? How's the chief?"

She yawned again. "He's okay I guess. Sue's Mom fell and broke her hip. So she needs to go to Portland."

"That's too bad."

"Yeah, so get this. Charlie needs to buy a suit for the wedding. Sue was supposed to take him shopping, but now with her Mom's thing, she obviously can't. So, yeah, Charlie called me."

Alice's jaw fell open in offense. "He called you to help him shop for a suit? What the hell? Does he _not_ know what I do for a living?"

Bella snorted. "Alice, chill. This is Charlie we're talking about. We're not talking Versace and Armani here. We're talking Pierre's Menswear remember? Next door to Bob's Hardware? He's going to take a few measurements and then order it from the Sear's Catalog."

Alice made a gagging sound. "Fine, you take Charlie shopping for his polyblend leisure suit. I've got my hands full with Edward's new wardrobe anyway."

Bella looked at me with an arched eyebrow. "Oh really?"

I groaned. "Don't ask. I re-stocked the beer that we killed last night, and I grabbed some raspberry water if you want one."

Bella chewed on her lips to try and stifle a giggle over the wardrobe situation, but it ended up slipping out under the guise of a cough anyway. When I shot her a dirty look she turned sheepish. "Sorry. The water though, sounds good, thanks." Then she flashed the most innocent smile that it made me laugh.

"So when are you leaving?"

"Well, that's the thing. He wanted to go this weekend, but we've got the retreat. Then next weekend Sam's on vacation for his anniversary so he's pulling doubles all weekend. The only time we can make it work is if I leave sometime tomorrow afternoon, shop on Thursday morning and then come back Thursday night."

I didn't like the idea of her driving that much in two days. "So, Bella, how would you feel about some company on this little road trip?"

She looked somewhat stunned with wide eyes and mouth hanging open.

I started to backpedal. "It's okay if you don't. I mean I don't really need to go, I just didn't really want you to drive that far by yourself."

She waved her had. "No, it's fine, I'd like the company. I just didn't realize you were so hard up for new clothes that you'd want to shop with me and Charlie."

"Uh, no. I'll probably skip the shopping part, but going home for a day sounds good. Maybe I'll go see coach or some of the guys while you're shopping. Think your Dad would be willing to put me up for a night?"

She snapped her fingers. "Speaking of which! Did you hear that Mike Newton is the assistant coach?"

"Really?" I laughed. "That just makes too much sense. That kid could never shut up during a game. But don't you have to teach to coach?"

She nodded. "Elementary phys ed."

Strangely enough, that made all the sense in the world; he was a decent guy, and was probably good with kids. Lord knows he loved his sports.

Alice grabbed a stack of plates just as we heard Jasper coming in the front door.

"Hello!" He called out

Alice called. "Hey, just in time. What did you get?"

Jasper tossed a movie onto the coffee table and waved to me and Bella. "_Slumdog Millionaire_. Edward, Bella."

Bella was serving the salad. "Awesome! I've been dying to see that."

I grabbed a piece of pizza and a couple of breadsticks and started for the living room.

"Edward get back here."

I turned back to her; her tone was stern and I couldn't figure out what I'd done to upset her this time. "What?"

She was still holding the fork and spoon from the salad and waved me back with one of them. "You need to eat some salad."

"Oh. Yes ma'am." I rolled my eyes at her but held out my plate and she dumped a pile on it. I wouldn't admit it to anyone, but I loved it that she made sure I ate salad.

Everyone carried their plates to the living room to eat while we watched the movie, but Bella excused herself for a moment and I noticed that she grabbed her cell before she hurried upstairs, presumably to call Charlie and inform him that I would be tagging along. Sure enough, a moment later I could hear Bella's muffled voice behind Alice's complaining about one of her clients. Alice had taken a spot on the floor in front of where Jasper was sitting in the wide armchair. I took one end of the sofa and it wasn't long before Bella ended her quick call and returned to the living room where she curled up at the other end of it.

The movie was pretty good, but I was preoccupied. I was thinking about how much I'd enjoyed my day. Every second of riding with Bella and looking at apartments was fun for me. Even arguing with her was enthralling. For the first time in a long time I really felt good about the direction my life was taking; like I'd been sleepwalking through my days and finally woke up.

An hour into the movie everyone was finished with their dinner so I started cleaning up the plates. Alice had dimmed the lights and climbed up onto Jasper's lap and fallen soundly asleep. I took his plate that he'd been balancing on the armrest and he mouthed thanks in response. Bella started to get up to help me, but I told her to sit. She seemed to be really into the movie and I didn't mind at all.

When all the food was put away and the dishes were in the dishwasher, I went back to take my seat at my end of the couch. Bella had stretched out while I was up and when she saw me coming she pulled her knees up to move her feet. Once I sat down she didn't move, but stayed curled up in a ball on her end. I reached out and wrapped my hand around the back of her ankles and pulled her feet into my lap. I glanced at her to make sure she was okay with it and she gave me a little smile to tell me she was.

By the time the movie ended both Alice and Bella were sound asleep. I chuckled and looked at Jasper.

He dipped his head toward Alice and whispered. "I got this one; you got that one."

I nodded in agreement.

I followed Jasper up the stairs with Bella in my arms. I had thought about carrying Bella to bed several times, but not under these circumstances. I carried her to her bedroom and using only the light from the hallway, I managed to pull back the blankets with one hand. It wasn't hard since she barely weighed a hundred pounds. I gently laid her down and briefly considered what she was wearing; those pants could not be that comfortable, but I wasn't about to take the liberty of undressing her. So I pulled her covers up and tucked them around her; she thanked me with a soft sigh.

I knelt down next to her and brushed a piece of her hair out of her face. It must have tickled because she finally stirred and opened her eyes, blinking at me.

"Hey. Sorry, I was hoping not to wake you; you fell asleep watching the movie."

She looked quickly around the room. "So you carried me upstairs? You didn't have to do that."

I shrugged one shoulder, not wanting her to know how much I'd enjoyed doing it. Then I curled my finger around another section of hair that was wrapped under her chin and over her throat. I gently tugged it back over her shoulder and swallowed the need to kiss the place it left exposed. "Just get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

I used the edge of the bed for support as I pushed myself up, but just before I turned to leave she grabbed my hand. I turned back and our eyes met. Maybe it was the dim light, but there seemed to be something in her eyes that I couldn't quite read; like she wanted to say something, but was afraid to. Just as quickly as I had seen it, it disappeared and there was just enough light to see her cheeks turn pink. She gave me a small embarrassed smile. "Thanks."

I nodded and gave her hand a squeeze, then reluctantly let it go and left her room, closing the door behind me. I stood outside her room wondering what she'd been thinking just now. I hoped she'd wanted to ask me to stay, but knew it was probably not likely. She probably just wanted a glass of water or something and was too shy to ask for it.

With a sigh I turned to my room. I'd only been here for four days and things were looking up. Bella was single, and we were getting along. Actually, it felt like we were falling back into where we'd been in Hawaii. I hoped that was the case; and if things did move in that direction again, I vowed not to let the opportunity slip by this time.

I would kiss her again. I would do it without interruptions and without regrets. And hopefully, this time, she wouldn't react like she did the last time.

**Bella**

I watched Edward walk out of my room and close the door.

"Oh my God! What were you thinking." I barely breathed it out so he wouldn't hear me. I can't believe I just did that.

I awoke to find Edward leaning over me. He'd carried me up to my bed and tucked me in. A lot of guys would have tried to take advantage of the situation and undress me or something, but not Edward. He'd been so sweet, and then he brushed my hair out of my face and I swear he looked like he was going to kiss me for a second. Then he just stood up to leave and that's when I almost fucked up. I don't know why I grabbed his hand like that; it was just a reflex. What's worse is that I barely stopped myself from asking him to stay with me. Barely.

I wanted him to. I really, really wanted him to lie down next to me and wrap his arms around me. Hell, I wanted him to do a whole lot more than that. But I needed to get a hold on myself. Just because I wanted it didn't mean it was going to happen; or that it even should happen. This was Edward for Christ's sake! Edward! He was being nice, not romantic. Just like when he'd pulled my feet into his lap, that could have been romantic, but it could also have been a very brotherly thing to do.

That word made me want to spit nails. Brotherly.

I needed to be careful, I wanted something to happen between us so badly that I was starting to imagine that he was sending me signals. I needed to just chill out and enjoy the time I had with him here. I should just take a mental Xanax and let things happen. Unless he does something more obvious, I need to just keep things friendly and fun.

I changed into a pair of pajama pants and resolved to just keeping things simple, but even so, I laid awake for hours daydreaming about how it would have felt to have him lie with me. When my thoughts started to wander down a less wholesome path involving those beautifully strong hands and no shirt, I gave up trying to sleep.

It wasn't quite one in the morning and I was wide awake. I knew it was probably a side-effect of the steroids that the doctor had put me on, and quite frankly, I was grateful for them. I was finally starting to feel like myself.

I threw on a hoody and snuck down to the basement. I hadn't been down there in several weeks, so I was worried that my supplies might have dried up. When I pulled the chain, the light flickered on before the room was cast in the artificial glow of the fluorescent light. I didn't like to paint in the poor lighting so I decided to check on my clay and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was in good shape. With a little water and some work it should be perfect.

Unfortunately, my hand was still scabbed and angry and covering it in wet clay wouldn't exactly be considered 'following doctor's orders'. I dug through the laundry room and found a pair of latex gloves. It's not ideal for a tactile art like pottery, but for a little practice I could deal with it, especially since I'd still be able to feel the mud with my good hand.

I flicked on my radio and flinched when Van Morrison's rich vocals came blasting out. I quickly adjusted the volume and waited to hear if anyone was going to come running down to find the source of the disturbance. Wishing once again that the hot water tap wasn't broken, I filled my water bucket without going up to the kitchen so as not to wake anyone.

I tied on my apron, pulled on the glove, and got comfortable in front of the wheel. It took a few minutes to get the clay soft enough; once it was ready I threw it onto the wheel. Happy with its location I started the wheel with a few pumps of my foot and worked it until it was centered. I didn't really have a goal in mind and just started shaping and working the clay. It just felt so good to have the clay running through my fingers that I almost didn't mind the cold water, or the glove.

I attempted a couple of vases, inspired by the daisies, but was too out of practice to get very far so I settled on a bowl. I was just humming along with '_Brown Eyed Girl_' while I turned out the rim and was so focused that I never heard the person on the steps behind me until it was too late.

"Fitting song for – "

My loud shriek drowned out the rest of his words. My foot had been resting on the stool where the water bucket was resting and when I jumped I accidentally kicked it and sent the bucket tumbling. There was a harsh intake of air as the cold water splashed over Edward's legs.

"Holy Shit that's cold!"

"God! Fuck! Don't sneak up on someone like that!" I turned around and saw that his pajama pants were soaked from the thigh down and clinging to his legs. I bit my lip to stop from laughing. "Sorry, sorry, hang on I'll get you a towel."

I ran over to the laundry room, but he started tip toeing behind me. "Your hands are covered in mud. I'll get it. And really, what are you thinking doing that with that cut?" He sounded irritated.

I couldn't blame him really, it had to be close to three in the morning and he'd just had a bucket of cold water dumped on him after I apparently woke him, though I wasn't sure how I'd done that.

I held up my gloved hand and used my teeth to pull the glove off and then tossed it in the trash can. Then I used the clean, but wounded hand to toss him a towel. I waved my fingers to show him. "Following doctor's orders; clean and dry."

He stood on the balls of his feet trying not to let his pants touch his legs. The awkward position made his bare abdominal muscles flex and I had to force myself not to stare. "Edward I'm so sorry; I really didn't mean to do that."

"I know; I'm not mad. I'll just remember not to sneak up on you in the future."

He patted down his legs and then before I had a chance to prepare myself he suddenly tugged his pants down his legs. "These are soaked."

He tossed them into a pile and continued to dry off his legs as he stood unashamed before me in a pair of boxer briefs.

I sucked in an audible breath and then cringed at my own reaction as I stared at the ceiling and felt my cheeks heat up.

He must have heard me suck air and chuckled when he glanced up at me. "It'sjust underwear Swan."

I started to giggle nervously. "Yeah, I know, but I just wasn't prepared for you to drop trou right in front of me."

I started giggling more and pretty soon I was laughing outright. "I'm sorry. Oh my God I feel like I'm nine again and Emmett just pantsed you."

"Really? Of all the things that you could have said right now and that's what you decide to go with? I'm standing in front of you in my underwear after you've dumped a cold ass bucket of water on me and you decide to bring up an embarrassing pre-pubescent memory like that? Seriously? Are you going for total emasculation or just partial?" But he was laughing too, so I knew he wasn't actually upset with me.

I laughed harder as I went back to my room to clean up. I was wiping down the wheel when Edward came back to the doorway and knocked on the doorframe. "What are you doing up this late anyway?"

I glanced over my shoulder. "I couldn't sleep."

"I'm going to go get some dry pants and make some tea; want some?"

"Sure, I'll be up in a sec, I just need to wash my hands."

He paused. "And how are you going to do that, exactly?"

I wrinkled up my nose; he had a very good point. He jerked his head in the direction or the laundry room. "Come on, I'll give you a hand."

He quickly discovered why the bucket of water was so cold when he tried the hot water tap. "What's wrong with this thing?"

"It's broken."

"Obviously. Got any tools around here?"

I pointed in the direction of Rosalie's toolbox, but didn't have a clue what was in it. Edward grabbed it, opened it, found a screwdriver and tapped on the valve a few times, then picked up a wrench and tightened it on the valve. I stood back and watched his muscles flex as he shifted and twisted. I sucked in a breath as every muscle from his forearm, bicep and all the way down his back rippled and flexed; then with a loud squeak the valve opened and the water started flowing.

_Breathe Bella__, just keep breathing…_

He glanced over his shoulder at me as he ran his fingers in the water. "That's better."

He jerked his head to beckon me over and I moved to stand next to the mostly naked and tragically sexy man who'd just turned on the heat, figuratively and literally.

He wrapped his fingers around my wrist and held it under the warm water and then started to rub away the bulk of the mud. He gently squeezed my hand from the heel down each finger tip like a message until they were all clean. It felt amazing; and crazy sexy. I started chewing on my lip and worked to keep my breathing even. He was so close I could feel his body heat next to me.

Once my hand was clean he frowned at the mud that was still caked under each of my fingernails.

"Edward, don't worry about it, I'll deal with them tomorrow."

"Just hang on, it'll be easier now." His eyes searched around the room and landed on a small stack of bobby pins on top of the drier. He reached an arm around me to grab one, effectively trapping me with his body. He held my hand under the light and gently ran the tip of the bobby pin under each nail and cleaned the mud out from under them.

When he was finished he held my hand up in front of both of us. "Much better."

His voice was husky in my ear and I swallowed at the sound of it. I turned to face him, but he didn't let go. Instead he held my hand between us. He'd leaned back as I'd turned, but didn't move away.

This was the moment; the defining moment. This possibility had always been there between us and we'd danced around it for years. Like children playing on the edge of the surf. We'd get close, dance along the edge, but whenever the surf would threaten to overtake us we'd run away again.

I saw the wave coming; I could feel the pull of the tide. This time I wouldn't run away, I dug my toes into the sand and waited, willed it to wash over me.

Edward's eyes flicked between my eyes and my mouth, asking permission to dip his toe in the water. I tipped my chin up just a fraction, giving him the permission he needed. He laced our fingers together, wanting to pull us together into the deeper waters.

"Ahem."

I gasped at the sound, hastily pulled my hand away and tried to jump back. Unfortunately I was still just inches from the washtub and crashed into it, knocking bottles of soap and cleaners around noisily. My eyes shot to the doorway where Jasper was standing.

I gulped and glanced at Edward, but he had this lopsided smirk on his face like he thought this was funny.

Jasper politely bowed his head and gave me a second to recover. "Yeah, sorry, I heard a scream and some commotion so I came to investigate. I didn't mean to interrupt."

"You didn't interrupt anything." I blurted it out before my brain had started working again.

Jasper shifted nervously and chuckled quietly. "Yeah, obviously. Anyway, it looks like everything is secure, so, um, I'm gonna go back to bed. Sorry again."

I glanced at the floor and Edward took a step back. As we listened to Jasper climb the stairs we both felt the tide retreat with him.

I took a slow breath and Edward exhaled a nervous laugh. "Okay then. I'm just going to get some pants. You still want some tea?"

I thought about asking if I could take it to go. It would not suck at all to go hide in my bedroom right now, but I didn't want to be a chicken shit.

I nodded. "Yeah, sure, tea sounds good. I'll just shut things off down here."

"Okay."

He turned and walked out of the laundry room and I waited until I heard him follow Jasper up the stairs before I moved. Then I put the heels of my hands over my eyes and rubbed furiously, hissing as the pressure inflamed the cut on my left hand.

I squatted down and put my head between my knees, not really hyperventilating, but needing to hold myself together physically and emotionally.

Edward and I had only danced that close to the tide a couple of times before and I'd always had a quick escape available to me immediately afterwards. This time, there was no escaping.

I took my time shutting everything off and slowly climbed the stairs. Edward was in the kitchen digging through the tea and coffee cabinet in search of something; thankfully he was wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt now.

"Whatcha looking for?"

He glanced around the cabinet door at me. "Don't you have any sleepy time tea?"

"I prefer chamomile. It should be on the bottom shelf, right side, near the back."

He ducked his head to look on the lower shelf, but couldn't seem to find it so I ducked under his arm and around the cabinet door to reach the tea. I pulled out two envelopes and held them up for him. "Here you go."

He smiled down at me and I realized that I'd inadvertently pulled us back down to the water's edge The microwave beeped that the water was ready and the tide retreated again.

He pulled out the two mugs and dropped a tea bag and a spoon in each before handing one to me. He reached for the fridge. "Do you take sugar?"

I smiled. "You don't have to wait on me."

"I'm not. I was just asking if you wanted some; its called being polite."

God Bella, defensive much? "Sorry, I'm just not used to someone doing that for me."

"You and Alice aren't polite with one another?"

"Of course we are, she just tends to eat on the run and we have very different temperaments in the morning, so we usually avoid each other which isn't hard since I'm usually still sleeping when she leaves."

He poured the sugar into his tea and then turned to mine; I gave him a nod. He glanced at me under his eyelashes. "Say when."

"That's good." I was standing in the kitchen holding my cup of tea and felt like I could jump out of my skin if he made any sudden moves. But he didn't. He moved fluidly and easily around me like he was completely unfazed by the whole scene in the basement.

Could it have been my imagination?

No. It definitely was not.

I walked around to the living room and curled up in the corner of the sofa. He sat at his end, but bent one knee and turned to face me.

"So what time do you want to leave tomorrow, assuming Charlie's okay with my tagging along?"

I smacked my forehead. "Oh shit, I forgot to tell you. I called him and he's looking forward to it. Charlie has to work until seven, so there's really no rush. I told him I'd make him dinner before he gets home, though, so I'd like to get there by five or so."

"That's good because its almost four now."

I yawned. "Wow it is. Sorry I didn't mean to keep you up so late."

"It's fine Bella. I like spending time with you."

I smiled and looked away. He was flirting, wasn't he?"

"So how about we leave around one o'clock, that way we don't have to rush. I'll need to stop at the store on our way into town." I yawned again.

He reached over and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "You always did take care of Charlie as much as he took care of you."

I leaned into his hand a little bit, but then another yawn wrecked the moment.

Edward chuckled. "Bella, I don't think you need to finish that tea. You're struggling to keep your eyes open. Let's go to bed."

I grinned, and arched one eyebrow. "Let's go to bed?"

His eyes flew open in surprise and he stuttered. "I…I…didn't mean…I meant you go to bed."

I started to giggle and he scowled at me and his hand ran through his hair nervously.

"I knew what you meant. I just wanted to watch you squirm." I brazenly put a hand on his knee and squeezed it before I stood. His whole leg jerked and he grunted a little.

I burst out laughing. "Ha! Somebody else has ticklish knees too. How did I never know that?"

He rolled his eyes and groaned. "Because I usually have more self control, but you caught me off guard."

I giggled happily as I walked to the stairs; it was good to know that even Edward had a few weaknesses. "Goodnight Edward."

"Good night. Sleep well Bella."

I made a quick pit stop to brush my teeth, shed the hoodie and climbed into bed. I dreamt of me and Edward walking on the beach. We were unafraid of the tide.

* * *

**A/N**

**Okay then… about that one part- you know what we're talking about. Sorry- it had to be done. **

**So, you know the drill. Reviews get teasers. And while you're in there reviewing, tell us what you do when you can't sleep at night. Not everyone answers our silly questions but we get a kick out of reading them. **

**Also, we sorta spent 48 hours working our butts off busting out an entry Les Femmes Noires: www dot fanfiction dot net/s/5515922/1/ It's called "The Final Stage" and we're really pleased with how it turned out. Check it out if you have time, but be prepared, it is completely different...and maybe not for the faint of heart.**

**As always, thank you so much for your continued reading, reviews, faves, alerts, and support. We really appreciate it!**

**Love, **

**S32 & TG**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N**

**Love and thanks to Aruni, who offers her wisdom, and our Red Pen Goddesses Maylin and AzureEyed1. And also for the love, laughter and support from the BBs in UUville.**

**Songs for Chapter 8:**

"**So Much To Say" – Dave Matthews Band**

"**Waste" – Dave Matthews and Trey Anastasio**

**See you at the bottom!**

**Rated M for language and possible future, well, you know. If you're not old enough to buy mature rated materials, you shouldn't be reading this (and your parents should install Net Nanny.)**

**Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight, _obviously._**

**Bella**

_Thud thud thud_

I heard the noise and buried my face further into the pillow

_Thud thud thud_

I heard it again and groaned.

_Thud thud thud_

By the third time I realized it was more of a knocking than a thud sound. As I blinked my eyes awake, it became clearer that it was actually someone knocking on my bedroom door.

A muffled voice came through the door. "Bella? Are you awake? Bella?"

It was Edward.

"Yeah?" My voice came out gravelly and hoarse.

He cracked open the door. "You decent?"

"Yeah, come on in."

He pushed the door open a bit further and smiled. "Hi."

I yawned and stretched, arching my back up off the bed like a cat. "Good morning."

"Actually, its afternoon."

I froze and looked at the alarm clock. Sure enough, it was just after noon. "Holy shit!"

I jumped out of bed and was met with a head rush and flopped back down on the bed with a groan.

Edward started to laugh. "Easy there, I let you sleep a long time, but I know you wanted to leave around one."

"Yeah, I do. Have you been in the shower?

"Yeah. I'm all set so go ahead and do what you gotta do. I'll meet you downstairs."

I nodded, but something was plucking at the back of my brain. I was overlooking something, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

I thought for a few minutes while I collected my clothes and went to the bathroom. I started the shower, stripped off my clothes, and was just about to climb in when it hit me.

"Shit! The groceries!"

I wrapped a towel around myself and threw open the door already yelling. "Edward!"

I had planned on just yelling down the stairs without actually being seen, but he had apparently come back upstairs for something and I nearly slammed right into him in the hallway. His eyes flew open in surprise and he threw up his hands like he was going to catch me, but I skidded to a stop before he needed to. It didn't escape my attention that his eyes did a once over on my body before locking firmly on my own; his adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. His reaction caused my cheeks to heat, and I shivered.

"Oh crap, there you are. The grocery list. We have to email it up to the cottage people. It was due by noon."

"Oh, yeah, when you weren't up I called Esme. She reviewed the menu with me and made a few small suggestions, but you pretty much had everything already. I sent the email about an hour ago. I'll bring it in the car for us to go over, and if we forget something we can call them. Otherwise, we'll send someone to the store."

"Oh. Okay. Thanks." I swallowed and smiled uncomfortably, suddenly embarrassed to be standing in the hallway in nothing more than a towel. I stuck my thumb out towards the shower while gripping the fabric tight against my body. "I'm just gonna…um…go…take my…okay, see ya."

By the end of my nervous ramblings Edward was smirking and obviously enjoying my discomfort. He nodded and gave me another blatant once over; he was toying with me. "Okay, you do that."

I turned back to the bathroom only to find that it was much closer than I'd thought and stubbed my toe on the doorframe. I hissed and started hopping on one foot, all while trying not to expose myself. "Ow! Shit! Ow,Dammit."

As I hobbled into the bathroom I heard Edward burst out laughing behind me.

"Shut UP!" I shouted at the door and was rewarded with even louder laughing.

I showered quickly, and shaved my legs; skipping that was not an option when I'd be spending the next two days with Edward. And then blew my hair mostly dry before throwing some things in an overnight bag. It was just before one o'clock when I met Edward downstairs. There was a bagel, with cream cheese and a to-go mug of coffee on the counter with the lid off.

He pointed at it. "I wasn't sure how you take your coffee, so I left it black."

I stared at the bagel and coffee. "Wow, thanks. Not to sound picky, but is this the coffee that Alice made? Because our coffee maker burns the hell out of a pot of coffee if it's more than a couple of hours old."

He shook his head, which was bowed over his phone. "No, I made it while you were in the shower."

"Oh! Thanks." I could get used to having him around here.

I cream and sugared my coffee and declared myself ready, and by one fifteen we were cruising towards the highway with the top down. Edward had insisted on driving again since the weather was nice. When we paused at a stoplight, I jumped when Edward reached across and his hand brushed the side of my knee as he reached for the glove box. He flipped it open and pulled out a pair of black RayBan sunglasses.

He was wearing a pair of faded and broken in blue jeans, a black t-shirt that was sort of rumpled, a worn baseball cap and now the black sunglasses. I noticed he hadn't shaved that morning either. The total package was startling. He looked comfortable, relaxed and incredibly sexy.

I hadn't realized I was staring until he glanced at me. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah! Sorry. You just look…different somehow."

"Oh?" The corner of his mouth quirked in a cute flinch and he nervously scratched at his stubble. "I'm probably due for a haircut."

I laughed. "No, that's not what I meant. You just look relaxed."

He chuckled and glanced at me. Then he reached out and grabbed my hand and squeezed it once. "I guess that's because I am. I'm enjoying my time with you… a lot."

"Me too actually… my time with you, I mean" I stammered, as a silly schoolgirl grin spread across my face.

He smirked. "Well that's good. My family will be so relieved if we don't kill each other."

I gaped at him with my mouth hanging open. "Did you get the 'be on your best behavior' lecture too?"

He barked a laugh. "Many times. I take it you did as well?"

I gave an exaggerated nod. "Uh huh. Wow they really don't give us any credit at all do they?"

"Honestly Bella, think about our history. Can you really blame them?"

I started to laugh. "No. We were really awful, weren't we?"

He laughed too. "Pretty much all the time."

I wondered what had changed the dynamic between us but that small voice in the back of my head told me I might get a petty Edward-rific response that would change it back if I said it out loud.

We made idle chit chat for a while and then Edward's phone beeped. He glanced at it, then turned it so I couldn't see it while he read it. He immediately burst out laughing and handed me the phone. There was a picture of Garrett and Kate in front of Mount Rushmore followed by a message.

_This is from this morning. We're driving through Montana on the 212, 2 lanes, no speed limit. Long, flat, boring. Scary as shit. Kate won't let me drive anymore because I honk at every car. How do I know they're paying attention? I hate playing chicken.  
_

I laughed and remembered the one and only time I met Garrett during a trip to Chicago for Alice's twenty-first birthday in November of my Junior year of college.

Edward had been dating Tanya, the stuck-up bitch; I'd figured out immediately that she didn't have a genuine bone in her body. At the time I never told Edward how I'd felt about her, though I think he knew.

Besides the fact that I thought Tanya was totally wrong for Edward, she was fake, materialistic, and snobbish; I was also insanely jealous. Of course, instead of sucking it up and dealing with it, I'd tried to play games. We had gone to see Dave Matthews Band in concert our first night in town. It was a packed show, and when Garrett had taken me to get another beer he'd grabbed onto my hand and dragged me behind him. When we caught up to Edward, Emmett, Tanya, and Alice, I noticed Edward eyeing our hands and he shot Garrett a dirty look.

I seized the opportunity and spent the rest of the weekend flirting with as many members of the opposite sex as I could in front of Edward. Our last night in town however, it all backfired when Edward went all big brother on a guy that had been hitting on me at the bar. I'd gotten angry and defensive and it turned into a scene. I remembered his exact words.

_"You sure have changed Bella. I never would have guessed that college would turn you into one of those girls."_

_"One of what girls?"_

_"You might as well hang a sign around your neck saying you're Open for Business."_

_The last thing I saw before Emmett threw me over his shoulder and carried me outside was Tanya's gloating face._

_The second I was out the door I burst into tears while Alice dabbed at my face and fumed about what an asshole her brother had turned into. Emmett paced back and forth clenching his fists._

_A couple of minutes later a pissed off Tanya walked out the door followed hastily by Edward and then Garrett. I hid behind Emmett so they couldn't see my tears, but I peeked under his arm and observed an interesting exchange between Edward and Garrett._

_Tanya never paused on her way towards the car, but as Edward followed, Garrett grabbed his arm to stop him. Edward spun quickly and got right in Garrett's face. We couldn't hear anything he said, but the look in his eyes was pure fury._

_Garrett didn't back down from him either, he wasn't as angry, but he didn't cower. There was a brief exchange during which Edward kept jabbing a finger in Garrett's chest before he stormed off._

_Garrett shouted after him. "So what? So what if I did?"_

_Edward never even looked back; he just ran off and followed Tanya to the car._

_Afterwards Garrett, Alice, Emmett and I went back in the club, but our hearts weren't in it, so we bailed in favor of coffee and pie at a local diner. Garrett and Emmett did their very best to cheer me up and I thought I'd been faking it pretty well, but while we were waiting for Alice and Emmett who were using the restroom before we walked home, Garrett surprised me._

_He was leaning against the side of the building with his hands in his jacket pockets watching me use a curb as a balance beam with a small smile on his face. "So? How long have you had a thing for Edward?"_

_My foot slipped off the curb and I stumbled into the parking lot. "What? I don't have a thing for Edward! Are you kidding me?"_

_Garrett pinched his smirk into a tight smile and nodded before looking to the side. "Sure you do. Why else would you have gotten so angry at him? For that matter, why else would you have been working so hard to make him jealous in the first place?"_

_I wanted to gape at him in offense, but he was right and I could feel the heat climbing up my neck, so I went back to balancing on the curb so I wouldn't have to look at him. "I wasn't trying to make him jealous. I was just…having fun."_

_"Uh huh."_

_"I was… or maybe I was interested in some of those guys."_

_"No, I don't think so. See every time one of them started to get a little too friendly you'd suddenly take cover behind either me or Emmett. Oh and thanks, by the way, for dragging me into the game."_

_I cringed. "Is that what he was so mad about? Did he think you and I were…you know?"_

_Garrett chuckled humorlessly. "Uh huh, but don't worry about it. We'll work that out. Though I don't think Tanya will be as forgiving. She finally caught on to why he was so pissed off and she's not happy about it."_

_I did a fist pump. "Sweet!"_

_Garrett busted up laughing. "She's a real piece of work isn't she?"_

_"Dear God! How can you stand having her around all the time?"_

_He shrugged. "I don't have to. Our slum pad isn't good enough for her so she won't stay at our place. Besides, he and Tanya won't last much longer."_

_"How do you know?"_

_He shrugged "She's been wearing thin on him anyway, and let's just say that since you've been here I think he's been suffering from a little bit of wanting his cake and eating it too. Only he just realized his cake is made of Styrofoam. Pretty to look at, but doesn't taste very good."_

I'd fallen off the curb again laughing, just as Alice and Emmett came back outside. I never knew if Garrett ever said anything to Edward about our conversation, but I did receive a brief apologetic email from Edward a few days later.

We never spoke of it again, and by the time he came home for Christmas that year, he and Tanya had broken up.

I was brought out of my reverie by my ringing cell phone. That particular ringer told me it was Alec so I ignored it and didn't bother digging it out of my purse.

Edward glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. "Are you going to answer that?"

I shook my head. "No."

"Is it Alec?"

"Mhmm."

His fist visibly tightened around the steering wheel but he didn't comment. I let the moment pass before asking the question I'd been dying to know.

"Hey, what ever happened with you and Tanya anyway?"

He groaned and squeezed one eye shut. "I don't know. I just realized we didn't have much in common. I think she knew it too but was trying to change me to fit her needs."

"Her needs being a wealthy doctor?"

He coughed. "Wow, tell me what you really think."

"I think she dated you because you were going to be a doctor and have a trust fund."

He sighed. "Well I think you were probably right. I might have been just as bad though if you think about it. I dated her because I liked the idea of Tanya, more than I actually liked her. She'll make a great rich doctor's wife."

I was left speechless by his honesty so I just nodded; he continued.

"It didn't matter though, the shit hit the fan with her not long after you came to Chicago with Alice. I didn't want to take her home for the holidays to meet the family and she thought you had something to do with that. I realized I didn't care enough to try and work it out. By the time I got back to Chicago she'd dropped off a box with my shit in it."

I gave the same fist pump I did with Garrett six years ago. "Sweet!"

A few miles passed by and I stared out the window until the stupid grin faded from my face. When it finally did, I turned and asked about another girl from his past. "So, since we're on the topic of past relationships, Jessica is going to be there this weekend."

He glanced at me in surprise. "Yeah, I heard that- she's coming with Newton right? You guys went out a couple of times, didn't you?"

I nodded. "Yeah, for a few months my senior year, but it was never serious."

He chuckled. "Funny how things work out, the two of them being together now."

We were quiet for a few more minutes while I sat in silence. This wasn't getting me anywhere, so I decided to dig a bit deeper. "Do you think it will be weird, you know, seeing her again?"

Edward ran his palm over his face. "For me? No, not at all. For her? I don't know though I'd hope not. Especially since she's with Mike now, but I don't know for sure."

"You guys didn't end well did you?"

He frowned. "In a word? No."

"Why not?"

"I don't know really. I never thought it was that serious, but I guess she did. She sort of flipped out when I ended it."

"Why did you end it?"

"Because I was never really into her like that. Hell, I could hardly tolerate her- I sure as hell didn't love her."

"Huh."

"What?"

"Its just good to know that I was right. I used to watch you guys together and I couldn't understand. Sometimes when you two were talking you would turn your back and make a face, like roll your eyes, or scowl. So I just couldn't figure out why you were with her when you could have had any girl in the school."

"Not any girl."

"Oh?"

He pinched his lips together and his eyebrows quirked once. "There was a girl that I wanted but she wasn't available to me. Jessica was."

My jaw fell open in shock and a little disgust. "So you just…slept with Jess? Because the other girl wasn't available? I mean, sorry, but Jess and I were friends and she told me stuff. You were her first and, well according to her, she was – " I cut myself off and shook my head quickly to get myself in check. "You know what, this is so not my business. I'm sorry."

"No,its okay. What you said is all true: we did, I was, and she was mine."

"But if you weren't really that into her, and you had this thing for the other girl, then why did you?"

He frowned. "I don't really have a good answer for that. I mean, I didn't dislike her, I just wasn't in love with her."

"But do you think there was a chance that she might have been in love with you?"

He visibly flinched with that question and he moved to run his hand through his hair, but found his hat and settled for scratching at the stubble on his cheek again. "Well, yeah, she did say that."

"Uh huh, and what did you say?"

He squinted and frowned out the windshield. "I don't remember. I never said I did though."

I clenched my jaw and took a breath. Even I can remember what he said to her. Mostly because it damn near gutted me when she told me, but I can't believe he didn't remember it. "Well I can tell you. You were fooling around in your car and she told you that she loved you. You said 'ditto', which was a line from the movie '_Ghost_' which I'm sure she made you watch because she made us all watch it, so you knew exactly what you were saying. So, no, you didn't say the words, exactly, but the implication was pretty clear. And then you slept with her. And you slept with her because you were a sixteen year old guy and she wanted to, and that's what sixteen year old guys do."

I huffed and stared out the window at the end of my little rant. I was a little embarrassed that I remembered that many details about his first time, but girls talk. He doesn't have to know that I was living vicariously. Neither of us spoke for several mintues and I was just about to apologize and tell him how out of line I was when he finally exhaled a long deep breath.

"Well damn. You're absolutely right. I was a total douchebag. She didn't deserve that at all. If it makes a difference, I did regret it later."

I thought about that for a few minutes. I realized it wasn't really that different from my first time. "Well it could be worse."

He exhaled a nervous laugh. "Probably, but could you be more specific?"

I shrugged. "Well, at least your first time was with someone that loved you, even if it wasn't reciprocal. It's better than nothing, you know?"

He thought about that for a moment and then spoke his question slowly. "Did you love your first?"

I coughed a harsh laugh. "Uh, no. And he didn't love me either- I'm pretty sure."

Edward was quiet for a couple of minutes and I wondered what he was thinking. He finally glanced at me and asked quietly. "Jake Black?"

"Ew, no."

His grip tightened, "Tyler Crowley."

I chuckled. "No, you pretty much made sure that didn't go anywhere."

He flashed an evil grin. "Good."

He waited for me to continue and when I didn't he waved a hand like he was trying to pull the information from me. "Come on, we're sharing here."

I just gave him a tight, embarrassed smile, neither encouraging nor discouraging him.

He frowned. "That guy you dated your freshman year in college?"

I shook my head again. And he paused, then spoke hopefully. "Alec?"

More head shaking.

"Bella I don't know anyone else that you went out with. I mean, you don't have to tell me, if you don't want to, but I'm starting to freak out a little. You said you didn't love him and he didn't love you. Please tell me that it wasn't something awful. You weren't assaulted or something were you?"

I gasped. That thought had never occurred to me. "Oh! No, no nothing like that. It was just, well…" I covered my mouth with my hand and mumbled his name.

Edward's jaw clenched and he swallowed. "Tell me I didn't hear that right."

I sighed and spoke more clearly. "It was Mike Newton, okay?"

His knuckles went white around the steering wheel and his entire body went rigid. It seemed like he was fighting the urge to actually yell at me. His body language alone pissed me off.

"Oh, you know, don't you dare get all holier than thou on me. You just said that you shouldn't have slept with Jessica. Your exact words were 'could barely tolerate her'. So don't start judging me."

He took a breath and seemed to will his body to relax. "But you just said you only dated for a few months and, I quote, 'it was never serious'."

I shook my head quickly. "It wasn't."

"Bella, you gave him your virginity! That's… that's pretty serious… I mean for most girls. Why would you do that?"

"Well, sort of the same reason you did. There was a guy and he wasn't available, and I guess, once –" I paused looking for words that wouldn't lead him to guess the reality of things. "Once he became unavailable to me, I just wanted to get it over with. And Mike was a decent guy.. he was nice to me, and I guess I was afraid if I kept waiting, I'd end up waiting for something that was never going to happen."

"Did he pressure you?"

I chuckled at the memory. "Um, no. It was sort of, like a gift, per se."

"Well yeah, that's how I would have looked at it, I mean, if it had been me that you, you know, you did that with."

I laughed "No, not a gift in a figurative way. I mean it was his birthday. So I wrapped up his present. A sweater, a mix CD, which I kept by the way when we broke up, because Mike had shit taste in music and only listened to rap, and a box of condoms."

Edward's eyes bulged a little and he swallowed. "That's quite a birthday present."

"Well, I wanted to get it over with, but I didn't want to just throw it away. So I took advantage of his birthday so that I could at least feel like I did something special with it, even if I wasn't in love with him."

"Huh. I guess I can kind of understand that in a messed up sort of way."

"Yeah, the idea was okay, but the actual execution was awful."

"Well, that's not exactly abnormal, you know, for the first time."

I snorted. "Mike's birthday is in February, and we didn't really have a place to go. So…"

Edward cringed. "In the car?"

"Yeah." I giggled. "But at least he drove a Ford Explorer. We tipped the seats down and had a little leg room."

Edward laughed with me. "Well you're in good company there- and I didn't drive an Explorer."

I nodded and we both laughed at the total fuck-ups that we were.

He kept chuckling but turned to me and waggled his eyebrows. "By the way, in case you were wondering, my birthday is also June 20 - same day as the wedding."

I gave him a flirtatious smirk. "I actually knew that."

He beamed and all the heaviness floated away.

We joked around and chatted about random topics for the rest of the drive. At quarter to five and in a light drizzle we pulled into town. We stopped at the store and picked up what I would need to make lasagna, a salad, and some garlic bread; it was Charlie's favorite. Edward seemed to be fidgeting a lot and then he finally drifted off to the bakery section.

I watched him for a minute as he nervously tapped out a rhythm on his leg with his fingers. He was walking around and around the table of cookies and pies. "What are you looking for?"

I startled him and his head snapped up in surprise. "Oh, I kind of wanted to do something. I can't cook, so I thought I'd pick up a desert. What should I get?"

It was really very sweet so I decided not to tease him. "It's Charlie, so go with something simple like chocolate chip cookies or an apple pie."

He continued to stress about the desert and was muttering something about thinking of this earlier and going to a decent bakery before we left town. The lack of decision making got to be too painful to watch so I abandoned him to go in search of a twelve pack of beer.

We met up in the front of the store and he helped me unload the basket onto the checkout lane. He stepped around me and was waiting at the card scanner with his wallet in his hand when I realized what he was up to.

"What are you doing?"

He cocked an eyebrow at me. "Um, getting groceries, what are you doing?"

"Uh uh. I'm getting groceries- you're not paying."

"Yes, I am. I'm not going to let you cook me dinner and pay for it. Its not polite."

"I'm not cooking _you _dinner, I'm cooking Charlie dinner and he's my Dad, so I'm buying the freaking food." I argued.

Edward frowned at me. "Bella don't be difficult. Just let me buy the groceries. I'm the one that insisted on coming."

I shook my head. "No Edward, absolutely not. I would have been here buying the exact same things and I was going to invite you anyway. Plus you drove, and I didn't give you any gas money, so you're already putting in your half."

Nancy, the cashier, was looking back and forth between the two of us, not at all amused by the argrument, just waiting for the outcome.

Edward finally clenched his jaw in frustration and muttered. "Fine. Nancy, would you please do me a favor and remove the beer, the cookies and the garlic bread from this order. I'll be paying for those separately."

"Edward, Jesus, you're being ridiculous."

"No, I'm not. The cookies were mine to begin with, and you can't tell me you would have picked up a twelve pack if it were just you and your old man."

I finally rolled my eyes at him. "Fine, but the bread is mine."

I shoved him out of the way with my hip so that I could get in front of the card scanner. He could be incredibly irritating even when he was trying to be nice. I paid for my groceries, grabbed my bags and stomped out the front door, only to find that the light drizzle had turned into a downpour while we were in the grocery store. I stopped right outside the doors and waited under the overhang for him to come and unlock the car.

He casually strolled out the door with a smile on his face. He walked over to me and handed me his bag. "Here, I'll go pull the car up."

I shook my head. "You don't have to do that. I was only waiting for you to unlock it."

He set the bag down at my feet and scowled at me. "Just once will you stop being so damned stubborn and let me do something nice without bitching about it."

"Okay, fine, go get the damn car!" I nearly shouted back at him.

He huffed and took off running towards the car. A minute later he pulled up in front of me and threw open the passenger door. I was able to jump in the car and drop the bags at my feet without getting hit by more than a few drops.

"Thank you." I spit the words out at him.

"You're welcome." He bit back as he pulled away from the store.

Edward turned a couple of corners and on the second one I noticed his eyes cut in my direction. His lips pulled back at the corner and he tried to hide a chuckle but failed.

All the tension shifted and it was suddenly really funny. I snorted and he finally started laughing outright.

As he pulled into Charlie's driveway he said, "You know we _are_ getting better."

"Yeah, we almost made it all the way here."

"Just a little more practice and we might make it all the way through the wedding even."

We ran to the porch with the groceries and I used the hidden key to let us in the house. Flicking on lights as I went, Edward followed me into the kitchen with the groceries.

I set about making the lasagna and he offered to help, but I turned him down and told him that I usually cook alone. I suggested that he could go watch TV if he wanted to, but he didn't, instead Edward wandered around and looked at pictures. He found the radio that was mounted under the cabinet and turned it on. Charlie's favorite classic rock station quietly filled the room. In Forks it was either that or country, and I'd take the Eagles over that any day.

I realized he was fidgety and hovering so I started giving him small jobs like stirring the ground beef. When the sauce was simmering and the pasta was cooking I started the salad. As soon as I grabbed the knife he took it from me and insisted it would be safer if he chopped the vegetables. I playfully punch him in the side. We assembled the lasagna together; he ladled the sauce and I layered the pasta and cheeses. When I put it in the oven he started running dishwater to wash the dishes I'd dirtied.

Edward handed me a dishtowel and pointed at my injured hand. "Clean and dry, remember."

"You know it's pretty much closed up already; I could probably do that."

He gave me a little nod. "I'll look at it later if you want. For now, just humor me please."

I sighed. "Fine."

So we talked very little and were mostly quiet as we cleaned the kitchen again. When that was done we both went out to the living room and I handed him the remote control. I realized that for the first time I had actually cooked a meal with someone without getting annoyed at having them under foot.

We watched the news until we heard the gravel under the tires of the cruiser and Edward flipped off the television and stood to greet Charlie.

The door was barely open when he yelled louder than was necessary. "Bells?"

"Hey Dad!"

He seemed to be taking his time taking off his boots and his holster before he poked his head around the corner and then finally walked in the living room. That's when it finally dawned on me; he was trying to make sure he didn't interrupt anything. I glanced at Edward and he seemed to have figured it out too, because he appeared to be fighting a grin again. That was happening a lot lately.

"Hello Edward. Good to see you." He extended a hand to Edward, which he accepted.

"Good to see you too, Chief Swan."

"Meh, call me Charlie, you're all grown up now. I hear a welcome home is in order, your folks must be pleased."

Edward nodded. "Very much so. Now I just need to find a place to live and I'll be all set. Bella and I have been looking at apartments and houses together actually."

Charlie arched an eyebrow.

"I mean, separate apartments- we're just visiting them together- for the company, and it's safer for her than going alone. We're not looking for the same place together."

Oh good God this was going to be a long night.

Charlie glanced from me to Edward several times and then snorted and sunk into his chair and grabbed the remote. "Sit down Edward, take a load off. I'm glad you're going with her, you'll make sure she's living someplace safe?"

I interjected here. "He's already forbidden me from even looking at a couple of them."

"Good." Charlie said, and then his eyes moved to the brace on my hand. "What did you do to your hand?"

I hid it out of reflex. "I cut it on a knife. Edward cleaned it. Its fine."

Charlie huffed. "Won't get rusty living with her, Edward."

Edward nodded and scoffed. "Don't I know it. She cut it right before I arrived. I actually walked in the door and found her on the kitchen floor with her hand over her head."

Charlie started laughing. I'm glad my father found so much humor in my misfortune. He noticed my glower and composed himself. "Dinner smells good, Bella, what did you make?"

"Lasagna. I'm going to go and check on it."

Charlie and Edward started talking about baseball when I left and by the time we sat down to eat a half hour later they had settled into a comfortable form of camaraderie. Dinner was relaxed and Edward insisted on cleaning up while I visited with Charlie, which entailed sitting on the couch and watching sports highlights and not talking much.

A little before eleven Charlie announced that he'd worked a long shift and was calling it a night. As he made his way to the stairs he caught my eye and jerked his head for me to follow him.

Edward was oblivious as he flipped through a photo album that I'd put together some years back. I made an excuse about getting bedding for him and he nodded before I followed Charlie up the stairs to where he was waiting outside the bathroom.

"What's up?"

Charlie rubbed at the back of his neck in apparent discomfort. "What is this?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean is this like you bringing a boyfriend home to meet your old man?"

I shook my head. "No. He just had the time and wanted to visit Forks. We're not dating Dad. And if we were, wouldn't it be a little pointless to bring him home to meet my Dad? You've known him my whole life."

"Well, yeah, but you know what I mean. You're really not… together?"

"No. Not at all Dad, we're just friends."

Charlie made a sour face and glanced at the stairs. "Bells, you may not be with him, but he doesn't see you as just friends. Know what I mean?"

I frowned and could feel the blood rising up my neck. "Yes, Dad, I know what you mean. You're not subtle, but I'm telling you, we're just friends."

Charlie nodded and shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, well I'm just saying, know what you're getting into."

I sighed. "Yes Dad. Now can I get the sheets?"

He waved his hand towards the closet like an usher. "Please do."

I collected the sheets and bedding and carried them downstairs; Edward immediately stood and started helping me make up the bed.

I yawned. "I think I'm going to head to bed too, unless you need something?"

He shook his head. "Thank you, but no. I'm good. I just need to wash up, but you go ahead first."

"Okay, goodnight Edward."

He smiled warmly. "Goodnight."

I climbed the stairs, washed my face, brushed my teeth and changed into a pair of men's boxers and a tank top before climbing into my old bed. It wasn't air conditioned at Charlie's and once the rain stopped it had grown humid.

I heard Edward climb the stairs and then the bathroom light shone through the crack under my bedroom door. He quietly closed the door to the bathroom and I stared at the crack that had gone dark again. I tried not to listen to everything that he did in there, but the walls were pretty thin in Charlie's old house. The door opened and the light was back again; shadows shifted as he left the bathroom and then they stilled but the light didn't go out. There was a pull to go and see him, knowing he was right outside my door. But then the light went out again and I listened to his footsteps on the stairs again.

Ninety minutes later I was still awake and it was too warm in my room. I tried not to think about Edward downstairs on the couch, as I tossed and turned on my twin-sized bed. When I couldn't take it anymore, I slipped from my bed and down the stairs in search of a glass of water.

As I tip toed through the living room to the kitchen I caught a glimpse of Edward on the couch. He was lying on his back, hands folded behind his head and no shirt on, but his face was hidden in the shadows. My mouth went exponentially drier. I hurried to the kitchen and got my glass of water, chugged most of it, refilled it and started back through the living room when a whisper made me jump.

"Hey."

I frowned. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

He shook his head. "You didn't. I wasn't asleep."

"Oh."

"I'm a resident, remember. I haven't had this much sleep in close to four years. I'm sort of topped out at the moment."

"That's kind of miserable."

He shrugged. "You get used to it. I can function on three hours a night for about four or five days in a row, but after too many days like that you sort of crash. It's probably horrible for the body, but it won't last forever."

He shifted up on the couch and I moved to sit at the end where his feet had been. From his new position the moonlight through the window cast a soft glow over his face and I was able to see him. "That doesn't seem safe for a surgeon, to be practicing on so little sleep."

A dark shadow passed over his face that I didn't understand.

He gave a thoughtful nod. "Well, that's a matter of knowing your limits. You're right, it's not smart or safe to try and do certain things on so little sleep. Like driving- your reactions, judgment and memory can all be compromised. So we take extensive notes and reference them regularly, but I won't go into surgery like that. I've even had to ask another resident to look over my orders once when I'd been up for almost sixty hours."

"Sixty hours! That's insane."

"It happens. I caught a nap here and there, but I had a long surgery to repair a bowel obstruction. Everything went wrong. It was initially a standard endoscopic procedure, but then when I got in there, she was a mess. She had undiagnosed colorectal cancer- it was advanced. I had to open her up and do a total mesorectal excision, and then there were post-op complications. I had to open her up a second time, and then I was on call when we were hit with a mass-casualty. By the end of it, I was writing orders for more IV antibiotics for the bowel resection and couldn't read my own writing."

I couldn't even fathom trying to deal with that kind of pressure. Edward was my age and the things he's seen by now… I felt like a child next to him. "Don't get me wrong, when I ask this question because I'm sure you're more than qualified, but that sounds like a lot."

"For a second year resident?" He nodded and gave a harsh laugh. "A lot of surgical residency is baptism by fire; this was one of those situations. I had an attending available to me the entire time- he even came in to oversee the resection, but never intervened. I'd observed several, assisted in a few, but this was my first solo. It was just bad luck that it turned out to be such an awful prognosis."

I was afraid to ask. "What happened to her?"

"She died two days post-op."

I wanted to cry. I don't know how he could handle that much heartbreak.

He sensed my turmoil and put a hand over mine where it was resting on the back of the sofa.

"She was fortunate, Bella. She had very advanced colorectal cancer. She was facing a long, nasty, uphill battle involving a lot of ugly treatments, surgeries, and radiation and she probably wasn't going to survive it anyway. I look at it as fate intervening."

I couldn't stop the single tear from running down my cheek and he leaned over to wipe it away with a small smile. "My dear, you would make a horrible surgeon."

I frowned and smacked his arm. "Hey."

He chuckled. "I mean that as a compliment. Your heart is too big and too soft for your own good. Its one of the things I love about you, and need in my life."

I had no idea what to say to that. So I mumbled a really lame, "thank you" and followed it with a yawn.

"You should go to bed Bella, before Charlie catches you down here and starts asking more questions."

I gaped at him. "You heard that?"

He laughed. "No. I just assumed."

I smacked his leg. "Goodnight Edward."

He chuckled. "Night."

**Edward  
**

I laid on the couch in Charlie's living room with my hands folded behind my head and watched her climb the stairs back up to her room and reflected on the past week.

Exactly seven days ago I was working my last on call shift at the hospital in Chicago when I received a page to the ER. Within fifteen minutes I'd cracked a man's chest and clamped off a torn artery. I'd then followed him to surgery where I opened him further, repaired the damage and, effectively saved his life. Throughout it all I'd stayed calm, cool, and under control. I never had a moment's hesitation and knew exactly what I was doing and how I was going to do it without a shadow of a doubt. Twelve hours later I walked out of the hospital and knew that I'd done all the right things, that he would likely make a full recovery, and I would probably never give it much more thought.

Twenty-four hours ago I'd stood in the laundry room in Bella's townhouse in my underwear. I was confused, scared, and conflicted. I raged between wanting to kiss her so badly it felt like my heart might stop if I didn't, but at the same time, all I could picture was what had happened the last time I actually did kiss her.

And then Jasper had interrupted, and immediately all of the other reasons I'd never gone for it were staring me in the face. It was so complicated. So I backed off and left the room, and haven't stopped thinking about it since.

Alice was one of the major reasons I'd never pursued Bella any harder. Alice was my sister and Bella was her friend; I couldn't mess with that relationship. If it didn't work out between us, that could make things pretty awkward.

I thought about my conversation with Alice this morning. Even though Bella and I were up pretty late, I'd still awoken at just a little after eight o'clock. I walked into the kitchen to fill my water bottle for my morning run just as Alice was putting the cap on her travel mug of coffee before leaving for work.

_"Morning Alice."_

_She glanced up at me and frowned a bit after she surveyed my appearance. "Good morning. How are you? You look tired."_

_"Nah; I'm okay. I had a hard time sleeping last night."_

_"You too? So did Jasper."_

_I watched for any signs that he'd told her what he'd seen last night as she was rifling through the coat closet, but she gave nothing away._

_"Huh."_

_She finally settled on a black rain trench and folded it over her arm. "So you and Bella won't be here tonight?"_

_I was taking a drink of water and shook my head before I swallowed. "No. we're planning on leaving around one. We'll be back sometime tomorrow evening."_

_She nodded a little and picked up her purse and loaded a few items into it from a basket on the side table and then grabbed her keys. "Okay, well be careful."_

_Under the circumstances those simple words could mean so many things. Be careful not to hurt Bella, not to take advantage of her, don't kill each other. What was she warning me to be careful of? _

"_Be careful?" I said the words slowly to imply a question._

_Alice nodded absentmindedly. "It's a long drive and we're supposed to get a ton of rain late this afternoon, so be careful."_

_"Oh. Right__- will do."_

_"Any more word from Garrett?"_

_"Nope."_

_"Why do you think he was asking about Bella's prom date?"_

_I shook my head as I followed her out the door. "Who the hell knows. He said he was just trying to bring Kate up to speed on everyone before they get here- that she's nervous."_

_"Okaaayy. So he's trying to bring her up to speed on every single detail of all of our lives including our prom dates? Wow, that must be a really boring drive."_

_I shrugged and squinted into the sun as I reached around and pulled my heel up to stretch for my run. "Three days in the car and some long spans of prairie. That's a lot of time to fill I guess."_

_She nodded as she shielded her eyes from the sun that was still low enough that the clouds coming in from the west weren't blocking it. "So when do you think they'll get into town? Should we plan dinner for them tomorrow?"_

_"I don't know. It all depends on how many times Kate wants to stop. I'll let you know though, I'm sure I'll hear from him sometime today."_

_Alice nodded and opened her door. "Okay I'll put fresh sheets on my bed for them and put out fresh towels before I leave in the morning so it will be ready whenever they get into town. I have a meeting with a client on Friday morning so if they are late I won't be able to spend much time before I head to Jasper's for the night."_

_"We'll have the whole weekend. They're probably staying in Seattle until Monday or Tuesday. Then they'll drive down the coast for a week or so before coming back for the wedding. Kate's always wanted to do this."_

_Alice squinted and stared at the pavement. "I don't know. I think I'd go insane not knowing where I was going and when. Just two weeks of time to kill and no plan as to what you're going to do with it. That's not relaxing to me."_

_"I know Alice. You'd end up making lists and planning routes for months. Garrett and Kate are free spirits. Him more so than her, but it works for them."_

_"I guess so. Anyway, have a good run and a safe trip. I'll see you tomorrow." Then she dropped into the car and closed the door before I could get out my own goodbye so I just waved and started off on my run._

My thoughts on my run ranged from how stupid I was to even think about trying something like that again, and how she must be completely freaked out by me right now, to how she was obviously not freaking out, and maybe this was finally the right time.

Most of my life I'd had a pretty easy run with women. I'd learned long ago that they were attracted to me physically. On occasion, I'd used my physical attributes to satisfy a certain need, but had always ended up somewhat disappointed. Most attractive women who were willing to fall prey to such frivolous and superficial traits weren't very mentally stimulating. Women who were able to look beyond the surface and get to know me I didn't usually find very attractive.

Bella was completely different; she was certainly beautiful, stunning actually, and I was very attracted to her. She was also interesting, smart, funny, and saw straight through all of my charm and bullshit. For example, her read on things with Jessica was dead on the money. It was a little disturbing to hear all the details that Jess had shared with her, but that was exactly the kind of shit that I would never have been able to get away with if I was with Bella; she was too damn smart for it. She had it all, and to a seventeen year old boy, that was scary as hell.

To a grown man she was still a little scary, but at least now I could appreciate the total package. Like New Years eighteen months ago; I'd wanted to defend Bella when Alec had said that I was only trying to hit on her because her writing made her look easy, but she was having none of it. She'd stepped between us, shoved me, and reminded me of how I'd done the same damn thing that weekend in Chicago so before I started throwing punches maybe I should go look in the mirror. Again, she'd been right.

The bigger challenge was that for as long as I'd known her, she'd never shown any indication that my physical attributes had any affect on her at all. Until, that is, last night in the laundry room when I'd caught her looking. At that moment, the seventeen year old boy in me cheered and nearly pounced on the opportunity.

But this was Bella, and thankfully Jasper's interruption had given me the chance I needed to put things into perspective. I couldn't approach things with Bella from that angle. If I was going to pursue her, several things needed to happen. First, I needed to figure out where Bella's interests were at. Secondly, we needed to be able to spend time together and not want to strangle one another. Third, we should probably try to get to know one another as adults and clear the air on some of our history. And finally, but probably most important, Alice needed to be okay with it, because if I started down that road with Bella, there would be no going back.

So by the end of my run I'd reconciled myself to going slowly. We'd start with this road trip to Forks. Nearly four hours in the car both ways left a lot of time for talking. So now, lying on Charlie's couch I reflected on the first leg of the trip and was very pleased with our progress, aside from the towel-clad Bella who nearly crashed into me and invoked a reappearance of the seventeen year old boy again. We talked through a lot of muddy territory including our past relationships with Jessica and Mike, and the looming retreat with them; something I'd been quietly stressing over a bit. Now that Bella and I had talked it over, I was prepared to handle the situation knowing that Bella understood the history and that it was all in the past.

Garrett had even heeded my warning from that morning and aside from the one amusing text message, I'd not received another phone call with random questions.

Garrett… what the hell was he up to? When I'd returned from my run I'd found three missed calls on my phone from him but no voicemail. So I'd called him back.

_  
"Cullen! Hey man, got a question for you." There was never a hello from Garrett, he always just launched straight into his agenda._

_I rolled my eyes. "Uh huh, what's up?"_

_"You asked Alice who Bella went to prom with her senior year."_

_"Uh huh."_

_"Did she go her junior year too?"_

_"Yeah, with me, why?"_

_"Score! I told you Katie!"_

_The line went dead._

_I growled at the phone and squeezed my eyes shut. Garrett could be one of the most annoying people I'd ever met in my entire life. I stood in the kitchen gripping my phone in my fist with my eyes closed and tapped it on my forehead a few times while I contemplated how to handle Garrett and all of his questions while I was with Bella on our road trip. I ultimately opted for a text message; something he couldn't argue with._

_I flipped open my phone and started tapping it out._

_**G – Bella and I are on road trip to Forks 2day and 2morrow. Do not call me with this shit. Will B back B4 u get in town. Text with ETA when you know what it is. –E  
**__  
_

I received one text from him and was relieved that it was just an amusing progress report. With a sigh I yawned and rolled onto my side. I needed to try to get some sleep, but I'd been honest with Bella about how much sleep I was accustomed to and it was a lot less than I'd been getting lately.

I found the remote control, turned on the television, and found a re-run of _Law and Order_, something that never failed to send me into unconsciousness. I tried to focus on the dialogue of a trial involving a woman who was pleading temporary insanity against murder charges due to menopausal mood swings. Sure enough, sometime later I awoke to a late-night infomercial and flipped off the television again before rolling back onto my other side.

When I woke the next morning, it was already daylight and I could hear Bella talking softly to Charlie in the kitchen. The smell of bacon, coffee and something sweet made my stomach growl. I pushed the blanket off my legs, and stood up to stretch. I began to rummage through my overnight bag for a t-shirt to throw on. I found one quickly, and pulled it over my head as I walked to the kitchen. Bella was standing at the stove flipping pancakes on a wide flat pan that was lying across two burners. Charlie sipped coffee and read the newspaper at the kitchen table.

"Mornin'" I yawned and stretched again.

Bella turned quickly. "Hi! I hope we didn't wake you. Dad's a morning person."

She pointed to the coffee pot where an empty mug was waiting for me.

I shook my head. "No, I'm glad you did. I usually am too but that sofa is abnormally comfortable."

After pouring a cup of coffee I meandered over to the stove. "Smells good. Can I help?"

Bella smiled gently. "Nope, got it under control. Maybe Dad will share the paper with you." It was obviously a suggestion meant more for Charlie than me and he pulled away a couple of sections and tossed them on the table next to me.

I flipped through them and picked out the local news section. I scanned through, but was too distracted by Bella. Charlie's radio was on again and there was a Don Henley song playing that Bella apparently liked as well. She was tapping out the tune on her thigh and swaying her hips to the music. The newspaper's local news was forgotten as I was lost in watching her move.

Unfortunately, Charlie had noticed my distraction as well and he quietly cleared his throat next to me. I turned to see him giving me a very pointed look with one eyebrow arched. When his eyes shifted from me to her and back to me I wished for a bulletproof vest, but all I had was a newspaper, so I held it up high enough to block my view of Bella and Charlie's view of me.

A few tense moments later, Bella was setting plates of pancakes, bacon and eggs on the table.

Charlie folded his paper and set it on the remaining chair. "I've sure missed your cooking around here Bells. Don't tell Sue I complained, but she makes turkey and whole grain everything."

"That's probably a good thing Dad, you're no spring chicken anymore."

He coughed and growled. "Hey now, no need to pick out my tombstone just yet."

She giggled. "So what's the plan Dad? Just a suit or are we making any other stops today?"

"I was hoping maybe you could help me pick out some annuals too. I'm going to build a window box to put outside Sue's mother's room at the nursing home where she's staying. She loves flowers and Sue called yesterday and said they don't allow them inside, because some patients have allergies, but they'll let her hang one on the window, I just don't know what to put in it."

She grinned. "Sure, we can do that. Edward, have you heard from Garrett? When do we need to be back?"

"I got a text from him last night. Kate wants to stop someplace again today so he doesn't think they'll be getting in until sometime after eight or nine. So there's no rush."

She nodded. "Okay. What are you going to do while we shop?"

Oh crap, I'd come all this way with her and given no thought at all as to what I'd do with my time. "I thought I'd just cruise around town, visit some people. Maybe I'll stop at the hospital or go see Newton." I shrugged.

She smirked. "Just general Forks sightseeing tour?"

I gave her a small shrug. "Guess so."

Charlie looked up. "How about we meet up for lunch at the diner before you head out of town. We'll probably be done around one o'clock. That work for you Edward?"

I nodded. "Sure, sounds good."

I insisted Bella showered first while I cleaned up the dishes and before long we all headed out the door.

Visiting Newton turned out to be a flop. I wound up waiting for a half-hour until his class was over, and then had five minutes to talk before his next class. It was even more peculiar since I'd be seeing him the very next day for the retreat.

I didn't want to wander around downtown because they were going to be down there at Pierre's picking out his suit and it was a little embarrassing for her to know that I'd come all this way just to spend time with her. So I did a lot of driving. I drove by the old house which had new owners now, and then I drove out to the beach and walked a bit, but it was chilly.

With nothing left to do I finally went to the diner around 12:15 and waited for them to arrive. Thankfully, they also arrived a bit early and by one o'clock we had ordered and were awaiting our meals.

We were halfway through our sandwiches and Bella's chicken salad when a distantly familiar squeal grabbed our attention.

"Bella? Edward? Oh my God, what are you guys doing here? Hi Chief, remember me? Jessica Stanley. We all went to school together."

He gave a little nod, but obviously didn't feel compelled to engage her in conversation and continued eating his Reuben. He didn't need to, either, because her eyes started moving back and forth across our table and I could see it coming. The gears started turning, assumptions were being made, and conclusions were being drawn. It was like a trainwreck; I could see it coming and wanted to duck out of the way or stop it before it happened, but I couldn't.

"It so good to see you guys! You know I had no idea that you two were together…"

I took the hit head on. I glanced at Bella and she seemed outwardly unfazed, but something in her eyes told me she was just as uncomfortable as I was. Unfortunately Jessica didn't wait for clarification and just kept on talking.

"How long _have_ you you two been together? No one told me. In fact I thought you were still living in Chicago, Edward. You know I always knew that you two would end up together. I even told you that when we broke up didn't I?"

What the hell do you say to that question when you're sitting with the girl you _want_ to be dating, but aren't _actually dating_, and her father. Is there a good way out? I couldn't see it and like a moron, started fumbling around blindly.

"Hi Jessica –"

"Jess, good to see – " Bella and I started talking at the same time.

Bella looked at me and gave a little nod, quick to bail on the situation and let me take the lead. "Sorry, go ahead."

I turned back to Jessica, still having no clue what I was going to say and started babbling awkwardly. "Um, hey Jessica; um, Bella and I aren't…well there's nothing…we're not together. I mean, we came to Forks together, but just as friends. We're not dating or anything."

Her eyes got really wide and she even looked a little confused. She glanced at Bella, then back at me, then Charlie, Bella and back to me. It was the longest, most uncomfortably awkward moment I have ever spent waiting for a semi-intelligent person to comprehend a message. "Oh. Sorry, I just assumed…oh gosh, well that's awkward."

I laughed. "No its fine. Actually I just moved back from Chicago last week. I'm staying with Bella and Alice while I look for a new place. Bella was visiting her Dad so I tagged along."

I looked to Bella to see if I'd said the right thing, but she was staring at her plate and picking at her salad. Her face gave nothing away.

"Really? That's good timing. Well I should run. I'm taking lunch to Mike. I'll see you guys tomorrow, right?"

Bella nodded but looked down at her plate. "Yeah."

"Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow."

Bella gave a quick wave and a smile, but her eyes gave it away, I'd definitely said the wrong thing.

We all went back to our meals and maybe it was just a minute of tension, or maybe it actually was an hour; however long it lasted it was excrutiating.

"So Bells, how's the salad?" Charlie finally asked.

Bella just nodded without looking up from her plate. "It's fine."

Charlie threw a look at me; one corner of his mouth pulled back and his brow flicked upwards. It was a non-verbal way of saying _'yup, you blew it'_.

_Great_, I thought- this _didn't go at all like I'd planned_.

I wiped my mouth with my napkin and tossed it on the plate, then folded my arms on the table, keeping my head down so that I wouldn't have to see again, the way Charlie was throwing accusing glances at me. He knew, hell we both knew why Bella was upset.

By the time Charlie had finished his lunch, Bella hadn't even taken another bite and had officially pushed the plate away and was looking out the window with her hands folded in her lap.

"I'm guessing you kids need to get on the road back to Seattle then." Charlie said, standing up from the booth.

I looked at my watch and nodded, then followed, sliding out of the booth to stand up. I reached out a hand to help Bella up, but she ignored the gesture and slid across the bench.

Charlie wouldn't let me pay the bill; in fact I might have offended him by offering. Once out the door, Bella hugged him goodbye and we shook hands.

I'm pretty sure I saw a little amusement in his eyes when he told us to 'have a good drive back to Seattle.'

We climbed in the car and started back towards the highway. I kept going over different things to say to break the tension or apologize but they all seemed either lame or desperate.

After thirty minutes had passed, neither of us had said anything of consequence other than the basics covering a gas purchase and beverages. I was getting desperate.

"So, did you and Charlie have a good time?"

She nodded. "I guess so. He really could have done it all without me, he doesn't really listen to any of my suggestions."

"But I'm sure it was good to spend a little time with him."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't have had to waste your time with this."

"It wasn't a waste of my time Bella. I told you I wanted to come."

She sighed. "Well did you get to see everything or everyone you'd hoped."

"I guess so. I drove by the house and saw Newton. But Bella, I didn't really have anything in Forks that I was needing to do that badly. I just wanted to come for the company."

"I guess it does beat sitting in the townhouse all the time with nothing to do, doesn't it?"

I was about to tell her that she was missing my point but my phone started to ring. I was so distracted that I answered it without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Cullen. Oh cool, I didn't think you'd answer. Look don't say anything, just yes or no's."

I almost hung up on him right then, but morbid curiosity got the better of me. "Okay."

"You know that story you told me about you and Bella in Hawaii? Where you almost kissed her but Emmett interrupted?"

I switched the phone to my left ear so that it was further away from Bella and glanced at her. She was staring out the window ignoring me. "Yeah."

"Where did that happen?"

I didn't say anything because it wasn't a yes or no question, and because I'd finally figured out what all the twenty questions were about and didn't want to encourage him.

After a pause he caught on. "Oh shit, right, you can't talk. Was it on a beach?"

"Look, I know where you're going with this now and you're wrong."

"No I'm not. And you didn't answer the question."

"And I'm not going to."

"Because I'm right and you know I'm right. Right?"

"No, you're wrong."

"Then tell me it wasn't on the beach."

I sighed but didn't speak. Garrett laughed. "Your silence speaks volumes my man."

He was still laughing when I snapped the phone shut. It was too frustrating not being able to argue with him without Bella figuring out what we were talking about.

I also wanted, no needed, to talk to Bella. I needed to tell her how sorry I was about the crappy way I handled the Jessica situation. I'd been caught off guard and didn't know how to answer the question because we hadn't talked about it.

So I turned to Bella prepared to just ask her outright if we were dating or if she would like to be my date for the weekend, but unfortunately she'd tipped her seat back and was curled into a ball either sound asleep or pretending to be. Regardless, she'd thrown up a silent wall between the two of us.

I eased the car into the driveway and put it in park. When I turned off the ignition Bella snapped awake, sitting up abruptly. She took a moment, looking around to see where we were, yawned, and then froze for a minute. Before I could do or say anything, she was out of the car and pulling her bags from the back seat and hurrying up the front walk to the townhouse.

I grabbed my bag quickly, jumped out, and jogged behind, trying to stop her. "Bella, wait."

She stopped abruptly but didn't turn around. "What?" There was no anger in her voice, but she wasn't happy either. She sounded resigned or maybe even sad.

"Can we just talk about this? About what happened with Jessica? You're obviously upset."

She turned to face me, a mask of neutrality. "I'm not upset, You didn't say anything that was inaccurate. There's nothing we need to talk about." She smiled in reassurance, but I saw her eyes and they were flat.

As Bella shoved her key in the lock and pushed the door open I started to say something but she stopped walking and I almost ran into her.

I followed her gaze straight ahead to the end of the hallway to where Garrett was casually leaning on his left shoulder against the wall with his arms crossed and left ankle crossed over his right. Kate stood just behind him, one hand resting casually on his bicep with a wide smile.

I momentarily forgot the tense situation with Bella. "Hey! What the hell are you doing here? You said you weren't going to be here for at least another couple of hours."

I rushed forward and slugged him in the shoulder and then smacked him on the back of it as I leaned to kiss Kate on the cheek.

Garrett started jumping up and down and smacking my back repeatedly as I led them back out of the entryway again and into the living room; I finally ducked away from the hitting when I tossed my duffle towards the stairs.

Garrett turned and stepped behind Kate and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Yeah well, I finally talked Katie out of that last stop. So we came straight here and got in about forty-five minutes ago."

"I didn't see the Volvo."

Garrett nodded and chuckled at me. "Don't worry it's out there. I parked down towards the end so we could surprise you."

I suddenly realized that Bella had quietly followed us all in and was standing near the dining room table quietly listening as we greeted one another. I whipped around to face her. "Oh God, I'm sorry Bella. You remember Garrett of course, and this is Kate." I waved my hand between the two of them in introduction. "Bella, Kate- Kate, Bella."

I watched as she nervously glanced from me to Garrett and Kate and tucked a section of hair behind her ear. Of course Garrett wasn't going to let her off with an easy hello. He dropped his arms from around Kate and ran around the dining room table and picked Bella up in a big bear hug.

"How could I forget this one? How ya holding up Belly? I know what a pain in the ass he is… are you ready to send him back to Chicago yet?"

She hugged him right back. I'd actually forgotten how well the two of them had gotten along when she visited Chicago. Hell, about the only thing I did remember about that visit was how much I hated that I was dating Tanya at the time, and watching Bella flirt with one guy after another until I damn near lost my mind.

Bella giggled and her eyes cut over in my direction. "Yeah, I thought I could handle it, but no, I was wrong. You better take him back with you."

I smiled at her joke, but I really wondered if there wasn't a subtle message intended there.

Garrett put her back down again and she turned towards Kate with a hand extended but Kate rushed passed it and gave her another hug. "No, no handshakes. With as much time as we're all going to be spending with these knuckleheads you need to understand that we're allies. And ever since Edward broke up with Tori it's been just me dealing with these two."

Bella glanced at me again over her shoulder and I'm pretty sure I saw a flicker of uncertainty before Kate released her again.

Bella again fidgeted with her hair and lowered her eyes to the floor before meeting Kate's again. "Um, yeah, I guess so. It's nice to meet you Kate."

Bella glanced back and we made eye contact again but she broke it almost immediately and hurried off into the kitchen. "So have you guys eaten yet? I can make something."

Garrett glanced at me and his eyebrows twitched in acknowledgement of the tension between me and Bella but then he answered her over his shoulder as he moved to sit on the sofa where two beers were waiting for him and Kate. "That's okay, actually Alice and Jasper just ran out to pick up take-out from someplace called Sahara's; she's getting enough for you guys too."

"Okay." She chewed on her lip for a second and then went to the fridge and grabbed one of the flavored waters that I'd picked up on Tuesday. I made a mental note to keep them in stock.

"Ahem." Garrett's not-so-subtle throat clearing interrupted my train of thought and I glanced at him. He was watching me with an amused experession on his face and his eyes kept flicking back to Bella in the kitchen.

I shook my head no without bothering to wait for him to ask a specific question. It didn't matter because the answer would have been the same for any question he would have wanted to ask. I pulled the footstool over to the other side of the coffee table and left Bella the armchair.

"So, how was the drive?"

"Beautiful," said Kate.

"Boring," said Garrett at the same time.

Bella and I spent the next fifteen minutes listening to Garrett and Kate tell their very different perspectives on the drive across the country while we tried to ignore the elephant in the room between us. She avoided eye contact with me constantly and spent most of her time fiddling with the label on the bottle of water.

I desperately wanted to grab her by the hand and drag her upstairs or outside so we could hash out what had happened at the diner.

Eventually Alice and Jasper arrived home and helped fill in the awkward silences. Alice shot me a few questioning looks, clearly noticing Bella's moodiness as she sat by quietly listening. Bella laughed when she should laugh, and spoke when she was spoken to. She wasn't rude, just very quiet.

Alice tried to ask her about our trip to Forks, but Bella only volunteered one word answers like 'fine' and 'good' until she told her about running into Jessica, which she described briefly, without any details, and without looking in my direction.

As soon as everyone was finished eating Bella started cleaning up the plates and empty bottles. I tried to help but she shooed me out of the kitchen and told me to go visit with Garrett and Kate. Not wanting to push her I decided to do as she asked. Pretty soon Jasper and Alice said their goodbyes since they both had work in the morning. She reminded me that my new clothes were waiting for me on my bed and I had to try them on tonight because if she needed to change something it had to be done in the morning.

As soon as the door closed Bella turned to the rest of us. "Hey guys, I know I'm being kind of lame, but I didn't sleep much last night and have a bit of a headache, so I think I'm going to turn in too."

Garrett and Kate said their goodnights and Kate promised to try and keep us under control before she finally headed for the stairs. I waited a few seconds, but ultimately couldn't take it anymore. "I'll be right back. I need to ask her something."

Garrett and Kate both nodded and I ran up after her, but she'd obviously, heard me and had stopped on the stairs halfway up. She held up her hands to stop me. "It's fine Edward. Seriously, I'm fine."

She started to walk up the stairs but I couldn't just let her go. "Are you still getting headaches? The antibiotics and steroids should have cleared that up by now. Maybe it's –"

She spun back around, glared at me and dropped her voice. "Seriously? Okay fine, I don't have a headache. But I am tired. And I don't feel like entertaining, so I threw out a lame excuse. Now can I please just go to bed?"

"So you _are _upset. I knew it. Can't we just _talk_ about this? This is the last thing I wanted."

She actually growled and stomped her foot. "No Edward. God! How many times do I have to say it? I said I'm fine and I meant it. I just want to be left the fuck alone and to go to bed."

"Well that was convincing. Yes, you're so _obviously_ fine. I don't know why I would think anything different."

She stomped her way up the stairs. From my spot on the stairs I watched her closely as she turned the corner at the top and, although she tried to hide behind a curtain of hair, I saw just enough of her cheek to see that her face was flushed. A moment later her bedroom door slammed closed.

I exhaled a heavy breath and turned back towards Garrett and Kate in the living room.

When I came around the corner Garrett was standing near the sofa with a fresh beer in his hand. He stopped and looked at me with a half smile and arched eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes and jerked my head back and forth. "What?"

Garrett's mouth pulled back into a smirk and he rocked forward onto the balls of his feet. "So, how's it going?"

Kate reached up and pulled him down by his arm. "Garrett knock it off, obviously not very well."

I sighed and dropped into the armchair, propped my elbows on my knees and lowered my head to scrub at my face. "It was going really well, then we ran into someone in Forks who assumed we were together. I sort of over-emphasized the fact that we weren't. I think I hurt her feelings."

Garrett chuckled to himself. "Smooth."

**A/N****:**

**As usual, reviews get teasers. So while you're in there, why don't you tell us what your favorite road trip music is?**

**Also, don't forget to check out our Les Femmes Noires entry: www dot fanfiction dot net/s/5515922/1/ It's titled: "The Final Stage". And also check out the LFN C2 for the other entries. There are plenty of fabulous oneshots; some by very talented newbie writers- give them a read!**

**There's now a thread for Proxy in Ravelry-Unicorns Unlimited. If you've received a rec for Proxy elsewhere, please let us know so we know who to thank.  
**

**As always, thank you so much for your continued reading, reviews, faves, alerts, and support. We really appreciate it!**

**Love,**

**S32 & TG**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N**

**Love and thanks to Aruni, who offers her wisdom, and our Red Pen Goddesses Maylin and AzureEyed1. And also for the love, laughter and support from the BBs in UUville.**

**Songs for Chapter 9:**

"**Send Me On My Way" – Rusted Root**

"**Sunshine" – Matt Costa**

**See you at the bottom!**

**Rated M for language and possible future, well, you know. If you're not old enough to buy mature rated materials, you shouldn't be reading this (and your parents should install Net Nanny.)**

**Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight, _obviously._**

* * *

**Bella**

_I heard Edward sigh. "What?"_

"_So,__ how's it going?"_

_Kate's voice, "Garrett knock it off, obviously not very well."_

_I heard Edward move and probably sit down his first few words were muffled. "It was going really well, then we ran into someone in Forks who assumed we were together. I sort of over-emphasized the fact that we weren't. I think I hurt her feelings."_

_Garrett chuckled, "Smooth."_

* * *

_Serves me right_. I thought bitterly.

I had stomped up the stairs, into my room, and slammed the door. Unfortunately I knew he was going to go back down there and talk to Garrett and Kate about me and was overwhelmed with curiosity. I silently opened the door and tiptoed back to the top of the stairs to eavesdrop on their conversation. What I'd heard confirmed what I'd been thinking.

Edward felt bad for hurting my feelings. That's all. He didn't regret saying that we weren't together, or admit to panicking and speaking out of haste or insecurity. He just didn't want me to be angry, or have my feelings hurt, or accuse him of leading me on.

Unfortunately, most of those things were true. My feelings _were_ hurt and I _was_ angry. Whether or not he led me on was debatable. He'd certainly been sending mixed signals if he wasn't, in fact, interested in being with me.

_But this was Edward. How could I possibly think that he was interested in me? God I was so stupid._

I tiptoed to my room and eased the door silently closed. Then I curled up on my bed and let myself give in to the tears. Crying over Edward Cullen was not new to me; doing it publicly would have been unprecedented, and it wasn't going to happen tonight.

I lay in bed for nearly an hour and listened to the muffled voices from below. I felt edgy, irritable, and no where near tired; I really wanted a cup of tea, but that was downstairs in the kitchen. So I lay in my room and waited until I could hear quiet voices coming up the stairs.

There were the sounds of Garrett, Kate, and finally Edward taking their turns in the bathroom, and finally after several long minutes of quiet it was nearly midnight when I sneaked out my door and tiptoed down the stairs.

I filled a mug with water and put it in the microwave; then went to the cabinet and found my favorite chamomile tea. As I did, I noticed that my hand was shaking. I was also too warm, perspiring and the house felt stuffy.

I remembered what the doctor had said. _"The Prednisone I'm prescribing can cause some anxiety, edginess, and insomnia." _

It was a small price to pay when I thought about how much better I'd felt since starting them. The few headaches I did have were manageable. I quietly went back upstairs to the bathroom and rifled through the medicine cabinet.

"Aha!" I whispered. I knew Alice took Ambien on occasion, but I wasn't sure if she would have taken it with her to Jasper's for the night. I shook out the little pink pill and then tip toed back downstairs.

I picked up my mug and carried it out to the patio for some fresh air. One of the patio chairs that was tucked in the corner was still dry and out of the gentle rain that had started to fall a couple of hours ago. The air was cool and damp and it helped me relax immediately. I sat in the corner and watched the rain come down, sipping my tea and waiting for the Ambien to start working.

The crying had helped take the edge off of how I'd been feeling towards Edward and I decided I wasn't really angry with him; my feelings got hurt but that was all. If the steroids were making me irritable then it probably exacerbated the whole situation.

I sighed, frustrated with myself for getting sucked in by his charm and charisma. I'd allowed myself to start feeling things again that I should have gotten over years ago.

Moping around was pathetic because nothing _was_ going on between us, and if I was honest with myself I probably would have said something very similar. It was just actually hearing the words and realizing that I'd imagined it all.

I used my fingertip to play in the rain puddles on the patio table, pulling them together into one large one. I just needed to shake it off and be friends with Edward; I'd done it most of my life and I could do it again now. It wouldn't be long and this wedding would be behind us and I could move into my own place; he'd find his place and we'd go back to seeing each other on holidays and special occasions.

After I'd made up my mind, I allowed my thoughts to wander over the upcoming weekend and decided that I would throw myself into the spirit of things. A lot of people that I loved and enjoyed would be there, so it shouldn't be too hard to avoid Edward. Tyler would certainly help. We'd become friends over the years and I knew he'd be lonely and in need of a good friend as well.

Eventually I was shivering and yawning so I went back inside and set my tea in the sink. The stairs felt like they were never-ending, but eventually I found my room and flopped into bed. I was out within a matter of seconds.

When my alarm went off at nine o'clock sharp I was happy to find that for the first time in months I awoke without so much as a headache. Halleluiah antibiotics!

I opened my door and could hear the shower running in the upstairs bathroom and the other doors were left hanging open. Everyone else was already up and I felt a bit sheepish for sleeping so late.

Downstairs, I used the guest bathroom and found a fresh pot of coffee in the kitchen. I contemplated making breakfast for everyone, but didn't really know who was in the shower and where everyone else had gone. So I sat and waited, enjoying the peace and quiet for a few minutes while I reminded myself about all of the decisions that I'd made the night before.

A while later the shower shut off and I heard someone moving around upstairs before soft footsteps could be heard on the stairs. They sounded feminine and sure enough, Kate rounded the corner seconds later.

"Good Morning!" She sing-songed in her slightly southern twang. I'd learned last night that Kate grew up in West Virginia. She smiled at me and kept running her fingers through her still damp chin-length blond bob.

"Morning Kate, how'd you sleep?"

"Pretty good actually. It's amazing how sitting in a car for nearly twelve hours straight can really take it out of you."

"Yeah, I bet. Someone made coffee if you want some. The mugs are to the right of the sink. Where are the guys?"

"I'm not a coffee drinker, but thank you. They went for a run, but I expect they'll be back any time."

"Have you guys eaten?"

"Nope. I was just going to rummage around and see what I could rustle up."

I fought back the territorial irritation over my kitchen. Between Alice, Rose, and now Edward, I'd grown accustomed to being the only decent cook around. But Kate was a guest and I would work to make her feel comfortable, so I moved to join her in the kitchen and the two of us took inventory of what was available.

When I found the pound of sausage she beamed. "If you have Bisquick or canned biscuits I could make sausage gravy and biscuits. Edward and Garrett both love them."

I went to the pantry and found the box of Bisquick. "Tada! How about if I make some scrambled eggs and a fruit salad."

"Sounds great."

We made idle conversation as we worked. I learned that Kate had grown up in a small town in West Virginia, and moved to Chicago immediately after finishing college. Her only goal was getting out of the small town she'd grown up in. She hated that seven years later her southern accent was still thick enough that she couldn't hide it.

She told me everything Garrett had told her on the drive out about Forks and how we'd all grown up together. She knew a surprising amount of information about me already.

I laughed when she told me she felt like she was having breakfast with Danielle Steel. "Hardly! I don't have her readership, her sales records, or her money. You're merely having breakfast with little Bella Swan, one hit wonder."

"Yeah right! I read your book Bella, it was great… phenomenal!"

"Thanks." I blushed and rolled my eyes. I still sucked at taking compliments.

"So is it based on anyone in real life?"

I barked a laugh. "Stealing Home? Uh, no."

"Really? Because it was so convincing, almost tangible."

"Well of course I drew from my own experiences or places I'd been, that's what every good writer does. But I changed everything. And no, its not based on any actual relationship either. If it were, I wouldn't be single, now would I?"

"What about someone you _wished_ you were with… everyone has that one great love of their life. That unrequited crush. Anything like that?"

I kept my head down as I whipped my eggs. I could feel my face heating up. "Um, no, not really, why do you ask?"

"I was just curious… the emotions seemed so genuine. I always wondered if good writers used their real life as inspiration."

"Well I'll take that as a compliment."

Several loud thuds came from the front door and Kate and I hurried out to the hallway where the distinct sound of a key in the lock, some arguing, and Edward's voice laughing and telling someone to stop being a bitch came from the other side of the door.

With a crash the front door is thrown open and Edward burst through. "Dammit G that shit hurts! What are you twelve years old?"

Garrett followed him in the door with a grin on his face. He saw Kate and I standing there and it got even bigger. I looked at Kate but she just rolled her eyes and walked away shaking her head.

They were sweaty and panting; clearly they'd raced the last leg, But while Garrett was still grinning, Edward looked annoyed and was rubbing his chest with one hand.

I burst out laughing when I figured out what was going on. "Garrett did you just give him a purple nurple?"

He started to laugh and shrugged one shoulder before toeing off his shoes and walking past me. "He cheated."

I started laughing hysterically because, honestly, the idea of someone giving Edward, of all people, a purple nurple was just too damn funny.

Edward looked so offended you would think that Garrett had accused him of committing a felony. "I did not cheat! It's not my fault you didn't know where you were going."

"I did know where I was going until you pointed at the other building and confused me."

"Perfectly fair. You didn't have to listen to me. Besides what are you bitching about? You tripped me!"

I turned to follow Garrett into the living room but Edward put two warm hands on my shoulders to stop me and bent forward to speak low into my ear. "You see, there is just one _more_ reason moving home from Chicago was a good idea."

He gave my shoulders another squeeze and then released me. I swallowed hard as I walked back into the kitchen. Kate was just lifting the pan from the cooktop. She glanced at me. "The gravy is done if you want to get in there and whip up the eggs. The biscuits will be done in about two minutes."

"Okay, thanks." I had to admit, she had the timing down.

Edward snuck between us to the coffee machine. "I made coffee for you, did you get some."

I glanced over my shoulder at him. _For me? _"Yeah I did, thanks."

"It's nice out this morning and G and I are all sweaty. How about if we sit on the patio?"

I nodded. "Sure, sounds good."

I heard Edward gasp and glanced at him. He was eyeing the bowl of gravy that Kate had left on the counter. "Is that Kate's sausage gravy?"

I giggled. "Yeah."

He groaned, actually it was more like a moan, and to my ears it sounded purely sexual. I looked at the gravy again, and sort of wanted to hurt Kate for getting Edward to make that sound. I decided that I _had_ to get that recipe.

Garrett and Kate helped set the table while I finished the eggs. She lifted the biscuits into the basket I'd given her and I swear Edward snatched it and sprinted to the patio when she dropped the last one.

By the time I made it out to the patio with the fruit salad, both men were staring at the food and looking like ravenous animals. I decided to tease them a little bit by taking my time to sit down, knowing full well that Edward wouldn't lift a finger until everyone was seated at the table. Esme had drilled manners into her children.

I moved a plant back under the overhang mumbling that it was getting too much water then I grabbed the broom and swept off a few pine needles. When I started to brush off my seat Edward finally jumped up and wrapped his hands around my waist, lifted me, and sat me in my chair like a child.

"Sit woman, we need to eat." He growled at me, but his eyes were twinkling in good humor.

I snorted and glanced at Kate. She winked at me and whispered playfully. "I'll teach you how to make it."

I giggled, but in reality, his touches, and groans and playfulness were making it so much harder for me to keep my resolve.

_Edward was not interested in me. He was just having fun._

We had a pleasant breakfast, though the conversation was minimal until the guys were finished eating. I announced that I was going to go for a run after breakfast was cleaned up and Garrett and Edward had to run out to pick up the alcohol for the weekend.

Jasper and Alice were meeting us here at 1:30 along with Emmett and Rosalie so that we could carpool to the airport this afternoon. With all of us working together the dishes were cleaned up quickly and I headed to my room to finish packing while my breakfast started digesting before my run.

By eleven I was moving at a nice jog across the sidewalk and re-solidifying in my mind, my goal for the weekend: Have fun and shake off my feelings for Edward. I needed to move on with my life and there was no time like the present.

**E****dward**

The second Bella was out the door Garrett turned to Kate. "Did she tell you anything?"

She shook her head. "Not really, just that she drew from her own experiences, but if anything from the book were actually true, she wouldn't still be single, would she? She said that she quote, 'changed everything'."

I held up my hands to stop them. "Whoa whoa whoa. Kate, tell me he hasn't dragged you into this too."

But Kate ignored me and just looked at Garrett. "Did you guys talk?"

"He's not buying it."

"You guys this is craziness. You have both deluded yourselves into seeing something that isn't there. I'm telling you, I'd know if it was. I lived it _and_ I read the book. So, listen, I'm going to take a shower. I'm begging you. Please do not get into this with her. Shit is already weird enough between us so please don't make it worse."

Garrett opened his mouth to argue, but Kate stopped him with a hand on his arm and holding up one finger. "Garrett, he's right. It's really not our business and she doesn't know us very well. Let's not make her uncomfortable with a bunch of unnecessary questions about it."

Garrett frowned and looked like a kid who just lost his favorite toy. "Fine."

I continued to glare at him with my eyebrows up because Garrett was a child and just getting him to agree once was not good enough.

"What? Fine. I'm serious, I won't say anything."

I nodded my head once and turned towards the stairs. "Thank you."

While I was shampooing I thought of everything Garrett had said on our run that morning.

He'd waited until we were just far enough down the block that even if the girls went out on the patio they wouldn't hear us.

"_So E man__, Stealing Home, what are your thoughts on it?"_

_I glanced at him. __"I don't know. __It's not bad for a chick book. Not really my thing, though."_

"_That's all? 'Not bad for a chick book'?"_

"_Uh huh, but I gather you have some__thing that you'd like to share?"_

"_Anything about it seem remotely, I don't know, familiar?"_

_I chuckled. "Garrett, there might have been a few parts that could have been loosely based on her real life experiences, but I'd imagine every writer does that. __Since we grew up together and I saw her almost every day for most of our lives, yes, some of those experiences I might remember as well, but that's the extent of it."_

"_Okay, so, Kate and I both read it."_

_I snickered. __"Really, what was your favorite part?"_

"_Shut up. __Look, Kate wasn't buying it either at first, but after a day and a half I convinced her. __That fucking book is about you dude."_

_I shook my head. __"Um, no, you're wrong Garrett. __It's fiction, pure fiction, and Bella and I don't have the history together to influence one page of that kind of book. __If it was based on us, it would likely be a horror story."_

"_Fiction my ass__. Eddie you two definitely have a history. __Maybe not you know, actual fucking, but you definitely have history. __And every romantic scene is based loosely on something between you and Bella, either what did happen, what she wished had happened, or what could have happened. __How can you not see that?"_

_I smacked my forehead in an exaggerated movement. __"Of course, obviously, a book about a professional baseball player is actually the biography of a med student. __Because they are the same. __I don't know how I missed that."_

_Garrett rolled his eyes and started hopping up and down. __"Dude, will you please listen to me?"_

_I scowled. __"Only if you agree to stop using terms like fucking in reference to Bella. It pisses me off and she deserves more respect than that."_

_Garrett sn__ickered and then wiped a hand down his face to straighten his expression. "Sorry. Will do. Now look, you did read it right?"_

_I sighed. "__You know I did." _

"_Okay, well I'm going to prove it to you. Let's start with how they met in the book. __Do you remember that part?"_

_I thought about it for a minute; the blood drive wasn't it? "No. Not right off hand."_

"_Okay, there was a blood drive and the whole team participated after one of the guys was injured; Veronica goes to the blood drive and donates, but walking out she passes out; he's on his way in and catches her, carries her back in and sits with her until she comes to again."_

"_Right, but Bella doesn't give blood and I've never donated when she was around."_

"_Because she passes out right? __You told me about it once, Biology your senior year. __You guys were bloodtyping and she passed out. __You carried her to the office. __Am I wrong?"_

"_Anyone could have carried her to the office__, it doesn't mean the whole book is about me."_

"_Okay, and you may__ be a med student now, but you said yourself you were captain of the baseball team in high school and the book is about a baseball player, could have been a football player; your brother played football; but its not. __And you know what the leading character's number is?" _

_I knew alright. __"Thirteen- it's a coincidence. __Garrett, the guy in the book had blond hair and blue eyes. __Her boyfriend her senior year had blond hair and he played baseball."_

"_What was his number?"_

"_I don't know."_

"_Did she ever go on vacation with him?"_

"_I don't know."_

"_But she went to Hawaii with you."_

"_No, she went to Hawaii with my family."_

"_And there was a quaint little moment between the two of you on the beach, after dark, in which you almost kissed her."_

"_But I didn't."_

"_But isn't it interesting that at the pinnacle point in the book__, when they finally do fu-bump uglies, it happens on a beach in the Keys after dark one night. Look, I can go on and on, I've made lots of notes. I'll prove it to you."_

I sighed and rinsed the shampoo out of my hair. I'd noticed most of the similarities that Garrett had when I'd read it as well, but I'd brushed it off as coincidence and growing up together. Inconsequential. Though admittedly it would be awesome if she actually did think enough about me in that way to be inspired to write a book, but that was highly unlikely.

Bella was avoiding me this morning; she wasn't being rude. Actually she was being nice, but she was distant and avoided looking me in the eye. When I touched her she froze and her breathing caught. She must be more upset than I'd realized, because as we were cleaning up I noticed that she moved around the kitchen so that she wouldn't get too close to me, always at least an arms length or two away. That was quite a feat considering the size of the kitchen and four people all trying to help with clean-up.

I dried off and dressed, then yelled out to Garrett that the shower was free. He was planning on coming with me to get the alcohol and, presumably to continue pestering me about the book. I packed my bag while I waited for him and checked email. There was nothing of significance, so I waited downstairs for Garrett to finish getting ready. I'd forgotten that the man could not take a shower in under thirty minutes, and got impatient so I decided to go and check out my car to make sure it got here in one piece.

I walked around it slowly and was pleased to find that it was spotless and without a single blemish on it. I climbed into the driver's seat and found that the inside was equally clean. However, my pleasure faded quickly when I found my original copy of _Stealing Home_ shoved between the seats. There were more dog-eared pages, scraps of paper shoved into the binding as bookmarks, notes scribbled into the margins, tops and bottoms of pages, and he'd even used a highlighter to mark a few passages. I was positively horrified and was frantically flipping through it, surveying the damage, when Garrett startled me by opening the passenger door.

He looked at the book and then at me and noticed my look of anger. "Now relax -"

I cut him off, "Relax? Dude what the fuck did you do to it? I told you to be careful and look! It looks like a college textbook after its been bought and sold four times! That is not cool man!"

Garrett started to laugh outright which made me even angrier. "You are so fucking possessive of that book man. It's kind of cute actually."

I glared at him. "Cute? Garrett, did you just call me cute? Have you gone gay?"

Now he laughed even harder as he reached one arm behind the driver's seat and retrieved a fresh copy from the back pocket and tossed it into my lap. "Here. I bought you a new copy. Now give me that." He snatched the well used, notated and highlighted book from my grasp. "And don't call me gay. You're the one ready to fucking bawl because I wrote in your romance novel. Now let's go, we've got a lot of material to cover and not much time."

I growled at him as I backed out of the parking lot. I honked at Bella who was walking back up the sidewalk and she waved. She looked worn out and her face was red and sweaty. It worried me a little that she looked so winded after her run; she shouldn't push herself so hard if she hadn't been running lately.

Garrett reached between the seats again and pulled out a note tablet that I hadn't noticed stuck down there. He'd apparently been taking pages of notes while he went through it.

Garrett glanced at his notes. "Okay where to start? Hmm. Okay, you read the book, I realize, but I'm just going to go over the key points of the plot. He's a professional baseball player and she runs P.R. for the team. They first meet at a blood drive during pre-season, which we've already established is based on your high school biology class. Okay, after that there's a bunch of flirting and he's pursuing her, but she's resisting. He's described as being arrogant and narcissistic, both of which Bella has probably called you at one point or another, right?"

He glances at me and I nod in agreement, because, well yeah, she had, repeatedly.

"Okay, so, yada yada, then he gets injured and blows out his shoulder and has to ride the bench for a few games. There's some drama around the new guy that's pitching and he's good so Andy doesn't take it well. Okay, that takes us to the charity dinner. Andy's being an ass and gets wasted and she's trying to deal with him because there's a lot of press there. She manages to get him into the limo and on the drive to his place he gets a little sappy and says a few heartfelt things about how beautiful she is and she starts to melt a little until he pukes and she realizes its just 'cause he's wasted. That part actually made me laugh a little, she is creative, but I'm guessing that wasn't based on you because I would have heard if that had ever happened."

I nodded but didn't say anything, because of all the conclusions he'd drawn from the book it was kind of funny that he didn't believe I was capable of getting that wasted.

"Okay, so after that they have a better understanding of one another and talk more, but his shoulder isn't coming back as fast as it should and, sure enough, he gets traded to…. wait for it… yes, of course, the Chicago White Sox."

I shook my head. "Coincidence."

"So how many coincidences does that make now?" He started to count them off on his fingers. "You know what, lets just wait until we get to the end."

He looked back at his list. "Okay, so they don't see each other for several months, but they exchange a few emails here and there."

"Which we never did, by the way. When I moved we didn't keep in touch at all."

Garrett nods, "That goes back to this being based on things that did happen, could have happened, or she wished had happened. Now stop interrupting. Okay, so a few months later there's a wedding. One of the guys on the team gets married, and since it's a team and he and Andy are friends, they're both there. But she brings a date, an attorney and there's a scene between Andy and her date and he runs him off. I kind of dug that part. I mean how many guys haven't wanted to run off some dude that's macking on their girl like that? Anyway she's pissed, they argue and he kisses her. She kisses him back, but she's still pissed so she slaps him. I didn't get that, if she liked it, why'd she hit him?"

My brows pulled together. "I don't know."

I realize Garrett is watching me and I glance at him. "What? Go on."

"Um, well, that part seems to have grabbed your attention. Did that actually happen?"

I frowned. "No, I was just listening. Other than Emmett and Rose's upcoming one, the only wedding we've been to before was when my parents renewed their vows in Hawaii, but you know she didn't bring a date to that."

Garrett kept staring at me for a few seconds longer than I was comfortable with so I flicked my hand at him. "Come on, what's the next part in your conspiracy theory?"

Garrett looked back at his notes. "Okay, so after the wedding he goes back to Chicago. He sends her an email apologizing, but they pretty much lose touch then. But she can't stop thinking about him. A year goes by and the team is in Florida for an end of season holiday in the Keys. She has a meeting at one of the business suites with management so she walks in and finds that Andy is there. Lo and behold he's been picked up again."

"The last night of the trip most of the team, Andy included, goes out to a club and they are both there. There's a lot of watching each other across the bar and sexual tension and he finally asks her to dance. While they are dancing someone interrupts them and asks for his autograph and tells them they make a really great couple. He says he thinks so too and they go back to dancing. Something about that part gets her all worked up and she runs out of there. He follows her and they walk on the beach." "There's some mushiness about how he wants her, he's always wanted her, its never been anyone but her. He doesn't know how to be around her and not be with her… all kinds of shit that a real guy would never say in this situation, but then they fu – um..do it…. on the beach, at night, under the lifeguard stand. That goes back to things that I think Bella wishes would have happened."

I swallowed but couldn't speak for a second as Garrett's words hit home with me. Because if there was even a chance that she had wanted that, then it would probably kill me that so much time had been wasted when I could have been with Bella.

Garrett studied his note tablet. "Okay, yeah, so I think that's everything."

"Uh huh. And I gotta tell you, I'm still not seeing it. Other than the loose correlation between the blood typing lab in high school and the blood drive scene at the beginning, I think you've gone off pretty half-cocked."

"Well, lets make a list. First he's a baseball player, and so were you. His number is thirteen, and so was yours. There's the blood typing thing, the fact that he gets transferred to Chicago of all places. I don't know how or even if, your high school prom plays into to all this, but I think it does somehow. And then the scene in Hawaii. Are you telling me that when you read this you never once thought that there were a fuck-load of coincidences?"

At this point we were sitting in the parking lot of the liquor warehouse. I sighed and bowed my head, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Okay, maybe once I thought maybe, but –"

"Wait, holy shit! Kate noticed this. She's totally fucking right! Hang on." He started flipping through the book again looking for a specific passage.

"Ah ha, here it is. _'I opened my door and found a very rumpled, very agitated__Andy on my doorstep. 'Hi' I whispered' _blah blah blah…okay here it is._ 'He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and pinched the bridge of his nose. He exhaled a long breath and then finally spoke the words I'd been dreading but knew were coming. 'I got the call. They transferred me to Chicago.'_"

Garrett looked at me with wide excited eyes… like a kid who had just proven that santa actually _was_ real.

I shook my head. "What? I don't get it."

He starts waving the book in my face like I would actually be able to _see_ his point it if I looked closely enough at it. "The pinching of the nose thing. I've only seen you do that thousands of times! That is a one hundred percent Edward Cullenism. And there's another one too, like this, hang on…" Garrett flipped more pages and mumbled as he read quickly, looking to the next excerpt.

"Okay, listen._ 'As he spun her across the dance floor his hand ghosted up and down her back, his finger tips tapping out the notes to the song along her spine.' _You do that too. You tap out music with your finger tips."

I burst out laughing and opened the car door. "Garrett, man, I think your dick is shrinking."

Garrett climbed out and looked at me seriously over the roof of the car. "Yeah, I know, I've been reading that damn book so much that I'm worried about that too. So seriously, give a dude a break here and just go with me on this."

I laughed again. "No, I'm not going to go along just to spare your masculinity. You're the one obsessing over this, not me."

As he followed me up to the door Garrett grumbled. "Fine, but I'm bringing Emmett in on this. He'll agree with me."

"No he won't. Besides I don't think he ever actually did read the book, and you're probably not going to get him to. So good luck with that."

Garrett gave up the cause for the remainder of the morning and we went about collecting an enormous amount of alcohol. Garrett pretty much doubled what I'd been planning on getting, so he obviously had big plans for the weekend.

By the time we got back to the townhouse it was almost one o'clock and Emmett and Rosalie had already arrived. There was jumping, back pounding, dirty jokes, and lots of eye rolling from the women.

I heard Rosalie talking to Kate. "You know, I'm really starting to fucking wonder if this whole wedding was just his excuse to have a reunion of the three amigos, or musketeers or tripod, or whatever the fuck they call themselves."

Once Alice and Jasper arrived there was some discussion about seating arrangements for the drive to the airport. It was further complicated because I had to return the rental car on my way. I really wanted some time with Bella to at least try to talk to her about the scene from the diner yesterday, so I made a suggestion.

"Hey Garret, how about if you and Kate follow me and Bella to the rental car place, and then we can meet everyone else at the airport? We'll need two cars in long term parking when we get back anyway."

He nodded, but Bella interjected. "Um, you know, I realize that Emmett and Rose wanted this co-ed group retreat, but I think there should be at least some time reserved for the guys and the girls to do their own thing; traveling is a good time for that. Don't you think Alice?"

Alice had been in support of separate parties to begin with so Bella knew she would have an advocate there. To me it just seemed that Bella was trying to avoid being in the same car with me, but I couldn't know for sure.

Alice of course agreed and the sexes were promptly divided. I was never able to catch Bella's eye, which again felt deliberate, but she hid it well by engaging the girls in conversation and packing the car. We all piled into our respective vehicles, Jasper in the convertible with me, and filed out of the parking lot.

We'd been on the road for almost fifteen minutes when Jasper finally cleared his throat and broke the silence. "So, how's it going?"

"What? Oh, geez, sorry Jasper. I'm not very good company am I? I guess I was a little lost in my own head. Things are good. This should be a fun weekend."

"Yeah it should. But I meant with you and Bella and, you know, what I accidentally walked in on the other night."

"Oh! That. Yeah, um, just so you know, there's nothing going on there. I mean, what you saw was the closest anything has come to happening. And by the way, I'm assuming since my sister hasn't been pounding me over the head for details that you didn't mention it?"

He shrugged. "As far as I was concerned there was nothing to mention. You weren't actually doing anything. So, no, I didn't see the point in getting her all worked up."

"Well, just so you know, I'd never start something with Bella without knowing if Alice was okay with it first. I wouldn't upset her like that."

He nodded. "But I bet if you wanted to, Alice wouldn't actually be upset by it. She loves you and she loves Bella, so I don't think you need to worry about that very much. But it's still probably a good idea to get her okay if you're worried about it."

I nodded.

He continued. "However, as the boyfriend of the best friend, I feel the need to offer a word of caution. Don't start something with Bella unless you really want to see it through. She's a good girl, and Alice has been pretty worried about her lately, and when Alice worries, I worry. Bella's been really unpredictable and emotional, some of which you've seen first hand. According to what she's told Alice, she's attributing it to stress from the book, moving, and her breakup with Alec. And maybe that's all it is, but no matter what, please be careful. Because I just talked your sister into moving in with me, and if she thinks Bella is going to be having another emotional crisis, I know she won't go through with it."

I laughed. "For a second there, I was ready to give you a prize for being the most compassionate boyfriend of a girl's best friend I've ever met, but now I see that it really boils down to frequent sex."

"Hey now, that's your sister your talking about there buddy."

"Oh man! Damn! That's just…ew." Then I thought about it for a bit. "Honestly Jasper, you're an alright guy. I think my little sister could do worse."

"Thanks man. Now, tell me, about you and Bella, you guys seemed to be doing great, getting along alright, almost getting busy in the basement. But then you went to Forks and now it's all weird again. What happened?"

So I told him about the lunch at the diner and Jessica. He listened to the whole story and I finished just as I pulled into the rental company.

Jasper looked at me. "So what this boils down to is you not defining your relationship with Bella in a way that she was comfortable with."

"I guess so, yeah. But I don't even know if we have a relationship."

"Of course you have a relationship. A relationship is defined as any ongoing interaction between two people. How you define that relationship is what's important. So talk to her. Have an actual conversation and ask her how she would like to define it."

I nodded and thought about it. "That's a good idea. I'll try that."

I checked in, and after a quick inspection of the car and some paperwork I booted Garrett out of the driver's seat of the Volvo. On the way to the airport the guys laughed and joked around, but my mind was still focused on Jasper's advice. Define the relationship.

**Bella**

Rosalie snapped her phone shut. "It's a good fucking thing I told her to be here a half an hour early. That bitch is still fifteen minutes late. Hey Alice! Don't get one for Lauren, she won't have time to drink it."

Alice was up at the bar in the airport ordering a round of drinks for everyone. When we arrived at the airport we were told that we had almost an hour to wait before our departure, so the group reconvened in the airport bar while we waited for Rosalie's cousin Lauren to arrive. She was the only one that would be meeting us for this leg of the trip. The boys had just texted Alice that they were unloading the alcohol with the charter services people and then parking the car and would be in momentarily.

By the time they arrived we were standing around two pub tables with eight cold beers on them.

Garrett grinned widely. "Nice!"

Each of the guys gravitated naturally to stand next to their significant other, which left Edward standing next to me. As he picked up his beer he casually rested his hand on the small of my back.

Edward held up his glass in a toast. "To good friends."

"To good friends" we all echoed in chorus. We all clinked glasses and as he clinked his glass against mine he looked at me and winked and I smiled back; what else could I do?

And then he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. I went with it, because honestly, trying to avoid Edward was exhausting when he kept doing things like that.

Rosalie kept checking her phone and frowning and muttering things like 'that bitch could never be on time.' While the rest of us relaxed and got into the giddy spirit of a fun weekend away.

Thirty minutes before departure Rosalie's eyes bulged as she caught sight of a blonde at the entrance to the bar. "Holy fuck she finally got her tits done."

She looked at me and rolled her eyes. "The stupid girl has wanted a boob job ever since she was like thirteen and Steve Porter told her she was flat during lunch in eighth grade."

I snorted and looked to see the blonde that Rosalie finally waved to. She was an average height bleach blonde wearing a short khaki skirt, heels and a tight pink top that was cut low and showed off her cleavage. She finally saw Rosalie and smiled a wide genuine smile but then her eyes darkened just a bit when she took in the handsome men that were also standing around the two tables.

As she walked over to join us she threw a little twitch in her hips that really only made her look like a child trying on her mother's shoes for the first time.

Rosalie and Lauren hugged carefully and then she pointed at each of us individually as she introduced us. "Of course you know my husband to be, Emmett, this is Alice his sister, my roommate, and a bridesmaid, her boyfriend Jasper, Emmett's college roommate and groomsman Garrett, his girlfriend Kate, Emmett's brother and groomsman Edward, and my roommate and bridesmaid Bella.

Lauren shook hands with each of us, but I noticed her eyes kept flicking back to Edward between each introduction. When he was defined as brother and groomsman Lauren then listened carefully as I was described as roommate and bridesmaid. She clearly picked up on the lack of relationship between the two of us and immediately started sizing up her prey.

As the conversation picked up again I moved to be able to chat with Kate some more. I really liked her and wanted to get to know her better. Plus Lauren was looking for an opportunity to move in and I couldn't bear to stand there and watch.

At our assigned time we moved down to the gate where we would board the chartered flight. One by one we climbed the steps to the posh plane and took our seats. I kept trying to move to the back of the line, but the slower I moved the slower Edward moved, and consequently so did Lauren. In the end we filed in me first, then Edward, then Lauren. I was pleased to find that at the front of the plane there was a single open seat so I jumped into it, getting a look from Edward.

I grinned and winked like he had to me in the bar. He frowned.

Alice and Jasper were across the aisle from me and were lost in their own little world so I dug my iPod out of my bag and popped in the earbuds.

It was a quick flight to Port Angeles to pick up Mike, Jessica, and Tyler, and while we were on the ground waiting for them to board, the pilot killed the engine and I was unfortunately able to hear most of the flirting that Lauren was doing with Edward. He sounded bored and a little irritated, but she was undeterred as she grilled him about what he did for a living, if he was single, and why he'd moved back home. I strained to hear the answer to that question, but Edward was better at keeping his voice down and, like most of his answers, I couldn't hear it.

Finally a very excited Jessica and Mike boarded followed by a very weary looking Tyler. His shirt was wrinkled like he'd pulled it out of the hamper, he had deep dark circles under his eyes, and hadn't shaved in at least a day. He saw me and smiled and bent to kiss my cheek in hello.

I reached up and held his chin in my hand so that I could examine him more closely. He smelled faintly of stale alcohol and there was a deep sadness in his eyes. "How are you doing?"

He gave a little shrug. "I've had better days. This could not have come at a better time."

I nodded. "If its nice after dinner how about we go for a walk and we can talk."

He nodded. "Walk definitely, but I don't know if I want to talk. I think I'd prefer two straight days of drunken oblivion."

I sniffed. "You smell like you might have a head start on that."

He cringed and pulled his shirt collar over his nose and sniffed then wrinkled his nose at me. "Sorry 'bout that."

I snorted. "Don't worry about it. We're all just glad you came. Listen, I'd move, but I'm sort of avoiding a scene in the back of the plane. You'll be okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I could use a quick nap. I'll see you on the ground."

He patted the top of my head like a pet and I batted his hand away as he started towards the back. I looked forward to spending some time with him because as much as Edward found it hard to believe, Tyler was really a good friend and I was worried about him. Plus, with the addition of Lauren to the party, with her sights set on Edward, I would be badly in need of a distraction. I put my earbuds back in and waited out the rest of the flight.

Less than an hour later the guys were helping transfer the bags and liquor into one of two taxi vans that were going to drive us to the cottages. Lauren was standing off to the side ogling Edward as he helped out. I was irritated because honestly, if she wasn't standing there being so conspicuous about it I would be able to do the same thing without being noticed. But the girl with the drool dripping from her chin made it impossible so I grabbed Tyler and pulled him into the other van with me.

I pulled him into the seat next to me. "So, do you want to tell me what happened?"

He glared out the window, the muscles in his jaw flexed a couple of times, and he sighed. "Well I told you about the couple of times where I'd caught her lying to me; she wasn't where she was supposed to be and all that?"

"Yeah."

"Well it kept happening so I finally asked her point blank about a month and a half ago. She burst into tears and admitted that she'd been having an affair with a guy from work. She said she regretted it, didn't know how it even happened, that it just happened one night when I was gone and she went out for drinks with some people from work. She told me that she was lonely because I traveled too much and when I was home I spent too much time with the guys. I guess this guy talked to her all the time. He paid attention to her in a way that I hadn't been. So I spent a couple of days in a hotel, but we talked a lot for the next week. She swore it was over and I believed her. So we decided to give it another shot."

Everyone else was getting on the bus now. He ran a hand over his face to smooth out his features. "Let's pick this up a little later. For now, why don't you tell me why Edward Cullen is giving me the stink eye."

I looked up and sure enough, Edward was leaning inside the door of the van and was definitely glaring at Tyler. I glared right back and arched my eyebrows to tell him to knock it off. But he frowned at me and shook his head before he scanned the remaining seats of the van. He glanced toward the front and leaned over to ask the driver a question, he nodded and Edward ducked back out. Then he reappeared when he opened the front passenger door and climbed into the front seat.

It wasn't a long drive and pretty soon the vans were driving down a long gravel tree-topped driveway. There were three separate cottages and two people were waiting for us on the front porch of the big one.

We were introduced to Vern and Wanda, the owners and groundskeepers. They explained the layout and sleeping capacity of each of the cottages. Tyler decided to take the sofa in the small cottage with Mike and Jessica since they knew the whole story and wouldn't ask him a bunch of questions. Alice, Jasper, Garrett and Kate were bunking in the medium cottage which had two queen size bedrooms. I went to the big cottage with Emmett, Rosalie, Lauren and Edward. In the big cottage there was a master suite for Rose and Em, a second bedroom with two twin beds for me and Lauren and a sofa bed for Edward right under the balcony.

Edward grabbed my bag from me and carried it upstairs to my room; there was also a small loft sitting area across from the bathroom and he threw his own bag in the corner of it. When I reached the top of the stairs he was standing there waiting for me and pulled me into the loft area.

I smiled. "Thanks for carrying my bag up."

"Why are you avoiding me?" He whispered.

I was taken aback by his question and my eyebrows pulled together but I kept my voice equally low. "I'm not avoiding you."

"Yes you are. You know I'm not even remotely interested in Lauren, right?"

"That's none of my business. But she's definitely interested in you, right?"

"And I'm being polite but firm." It didn't escape my attention that those were the same words I'd used to describe my situation with Alec. "You know you could help discourage her a little bit if you wanted to. Or are you too busy with Tyler?"

That pissed me off. I crossed my arms over my chest defensively and whisper shouted at him. "Oh no. You are _not _going to pull that shit. First of all I don't owe you any explanations about Tyler, but I'm going to tell you anyway. He's a friend and he's hurting, so yeah, I'm going to give him my time and my support. You're a big boy Edward I think you can handle Lauren all by yourself."

I spun on my heel and started towards the bedroom I was sharing with Lauren just as she cleared the top of the stairs. "Hi guys! Where are you sleeping Edward?"

He cleared his throat but his eyes stayed focused on me. He shoved a thumb in the direction of the living room below us. "On the sofa bed."

Lauren's shoulders fell. "Oh. Well that's not very private. That's too bad."

I walked into the bedroom and could hear Lauren's obnoxious giggles and then Edward excused himself and I saw him walk past the door to the stairs. Lauren immediately followed and closed the door behind her.

She walked to the bed and dropped herself on it with a sigh. "Okay. You have to tell me absolutely everything you know about Edward."

I snorted. "Well, what do you want to know exactly? I'm sure he gave you the basics."

"Is he single? I asked him and he said 'technically'. I don't know what that means."

I sighed as I laid my clothes in the dresser at the end of my bed. "Okay, here's the scoop. He just moved back to Seattle form Chicago. Yes, he's single. I don't know what he means by 'technically' unless there was someone back in Chicago that I don't know about."

She frowned. "He's straight right?"

I barked out a loud laugh. "Yes. He's straight, why?"

"I don't know, he was giving off a strange vibe. Anyway, if he's straight and single then I'm into it. So we need a system."

I raised my eyebrows. "A system? What kind of system?"

Lauren opened her suitcase and pulled out a black scarf. She tied it loosely around the doorknob. Then turned to me with a big smile. "Like in college, if this scarf is on the outside it means the room is occupied. In which case, Edward's sofa bed will be free. You don't mind do you?"

I swallowed the urge to vomit and shook my head. I shoved the drawer closed and walked to the door. "Good luck."

She flashed a disgusting grin and pointed at her chest. "I don't need luck now that I've got these."

* * *

**A/N**

**Unfortunately, Thanksgiving here in the states took us away from home, and also replying to reviews in a timely fashion. By the time TG got around to replying, it seemed pointless to send teasers to a chapter that would be posted the very same day. So… our sincere apologies! **

**A Chapter 10 teaser has been submitted to The Fictionators for Teaser Monday. That should post today as well. We will do our very best to pick a different teaser from Chapter 10 for review replies- that is, if y'all still want them!**

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	10. Chapter 10

**A/N**

**Love and thanks to Aruni, who offers her wisdom, and our Red Pen Goddesses Maylin and AzureEyed1. And also for the love, laughter and support from the BBs in UUville.**

**Songs for Chapter 10:**

"**Northwestern Girls" – Say Hi**

"**Shiver" - Coldplay**

**See you at the bottom!**

**Rated M for language and possible future, well, you know. If you're not old enough to buy mature rated materials, you shouldn't be reading this (and your parents should install Net Nanny.)**

**Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight, **_**obviously.**_

_Lauren opened her suitcase and pulled out a black scarf. She tied it loosely around the doorknob. Then turned to me with a big smile. "Like in college__, if this scarf is on the outside it means the room is occupied. In which case, Edward's sofa bed will be free. You don't mind do you?"_

_Swallowing the bile that was rising up my throat, I shook my head and shoved the drawer closed before walking to the door. "Good luck."_

_She flashed a disgusting grin and pointed at her chest. "I don't need luck now that I've got these." _

**Bella**

As I walked down the stairs I kept my eyes down and held onto the railing. What I really wanted was to punch the first person I came into contact with, and with any luck that person would be Lauren.

She was obviously on a mission and after that subtle little message that Edward sent me at the airport, I didn't have any option but to stand clear and watch it happen.

_As he picked up his beer he casually rested his hand on the small of my back._

_Edward held up his glass in a toast. "To good friends."_

"_To good friends" we all echoed in chorus. We all clinked glasses and as he clinked his glass against mine he looked at me and winked and I smiled back._

Again, it was so confusing. His words were clear: good friends, but his actions said more than that. I sighed and decided that until he was ready to be clear I had no choice but to listen to his words. That meant that I had no right to stand in Lauren's way.

Most everyone had gone to their separate corners to settle in and I found myself in the main living area all alone. I took a moment to breathe and calm myself and then tried to focus on where I was and why I was there. There was a large kitchen on the south wall with an island that was made out of worn timber and a chopping block top. The surrounding cabinetry was all in natural knotty pine that matched the knotty pine walls. The door frames, trim and railings cut from wood logs.

I ran my hand over the side of a massive log column that stood between the dining and living room and wondered if it had been sandblasted because it was really smooth and stained dark. The floor was all tile with large area rugs in red, brown, gold and blue accents laid out under the furniture. The open log-style staircase that I'd just walked down wrapped around a large stone fireplace in which there was already a blazing fire. The adjacent wall was adorned with a large flat screen television that I knew was attached to a full satellite package and DVD player with Bose stereo system. It was the kind of place that would be comfortable whether it was sunny and warm outside or snowing at Christmas. The cottage was warm and cozy; I fell in love with it.

On the western-facing back of the house there were two sliding glass doors that led out onto the wrap-around deck. There was a span of yard with a patio, grill, and a large table and chairs off to one side. Then the yard sloped down enough that there was a small set of steps made out of stone carved into the hill on one side before it leveled out again into another flat stretch of grass that ran out to the beach. It was the perfect spot for Alice to hang her volleyball net and some yard games. For now Emmett, Edward, and Garrett were using it to toss a football around.

Actually, as I watched I realized that Emmett and Edward were throwing the football while Garrett stood next to Emmett with a note tablet that he might have been reading from. He was very animated and Emmett appeared to be listening intently as he almost got hit in the head with the ball. Edward was frowning and kept shaking his head, but Emmett was clearly agreeing with Garrett as he was nodding and started laughing.

Edward must have noticed me watching and shouted something to the other two; I didn't hear it as his voice was whisked away by the breeze coming off the water. They looked up at him and Edward jerked his chin up towards the house. They all turned and saw me standing there. Garrett waved, Emmett looked….caught? Edward was annoyed. I was definitely curious.

_What the hell was _that_ all about?_

I watched them for another few minutes until I was joined by Rosalie, Lauren, Kate and Alice. Rose brought me a drink and dragged me out to the patio table. Eventually Jessica joined us. Mike ran out and jumped into the football game and Tyler took a seat next to me, with a beer in each hand.

I glanced at the cans. "Getting right on that drunken oblivion plan aren't you?"

He smirked, pulled on his beer, and nodded. "You wanna go for a walk?"

I nodded. "Sure."

But we were just standing up when Edward started calling from the yard. "Hey Crowley, let the woman be and get out here. You're throwing off the teams."

He glanced at me and I shrugged. "Go. It'll be good for you. We'll talk later."

The game got exceptionally better when the teams were determined and Edward was on 'skins' along with Jasper and Tyler. I sipped my beer and watched him peel his shirt off, then felt my pulse pick up as Edward started walking towards the patio, and more specifically, towards me.

When he was about ten feet away his eyes met mine. "Could you hold onto this for me?"

I nodded and he tossed his shirt to me. I caught it with my free hand, but the shirt brought a rush of air that was saturated with the smell of Edward. It wafted over me and I breathed in the mixture of soap, a hint of cologne, and something that could only be described as Edward musk. It was delicious.

I wanted to bury my face in it and inhale his scent but instead I just shook it out and laid it over my lap. Internally I swelled with pride and possessiveness that he'd tossed his shirt to me, not one of the other girls sitting around and not haphazardly tossing it on the ground like Jasper and Tyler. He'd given his shirt to me for safekeeping. If I were either ape or man, I'd be pounding on my chest right now.

Unfortunately, my moment was interrupted by Lauren again.

"Holy fuck. Think if I offered to play they'd make it a tackle game?"

I turned my chair away from the guys and focused on Lauren with a smirk. "Not a good idea Lauren, you might pop a boob."

"Yeah, but if Edward was tackling me it might be worth the risk."

And with that it was time to make dinner.

I stood and ground out a semi-polite excuse about starting the steak marinade. Rose, Alice and Jessica all offered to help, but I declined and said there wasn't much to do. Lauren never took her eyes off the guys. I hung his shirt on the back of my chair and spun it childishly away from Lauren and then walked inside.

Kate followed without asking permission. "What's on the menu for the evening?"

I glanced over my shoulder. "Steak and shrimp, baked potatoes, asparagus, a salad, and some bread. I'm just going to start the marinade and get the potatoes going."

She nodded. "Sounds good. I'll scrub potatoes if you don't mind."

I shrugged "Sure."

We both started at our tasks and it was a few minutes before Kate spoke. "So, you okay?"

I was surprised by her question and my eyebrows pulled together when I looked at her. "I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?"

She stopped and leaned her hip against the counter to face me and wiped her hands off on a towel. "Okay, so I know I've only been here a day, and you don't have to confirm or deny anything, and I won't tell anyone else what I suspect, but I was kind of getting the feeling that you might have a thing for Edward. And, clearly, Lauren is fixin' to get her claws into him, so I'll ask again, are you okay?"

I chewed on my lip for a second as I looked over her shoulder and out the glass doors to where the guys were playing football. Edward was playing quarterback and he faked a pass and started running it up the yard. As he passed the window something caught my attention and I followed him with my eyes, waiting for a better look. He spun around Mike; Jasper was blocking Emmett, but Garrett came up behind him, blocking my view and finally tagged him.

_Damnit. Move Garrett._

Of course just as Garrett stepped out of the way, Edward slowed to a jog and turned back to face the cottage again. I was lost in his athletic and graceful movements while I waited for another look. There was a light sheen of sweat on his chest and he was laughing and having fun. He glanced up at the girls sitting at the table but his eyes kept moving along the deck. His lips twitched in what appeared to want to be a frown.

_Was he looking for me?_

Then he moved to line up again and I finally got another clear look and gasped.

Kate stepped behind me to see what I was watching so intently. "What?"

But I was so stunned by what I was seeing that I couldn't form the words. I palmed my mouth and mumbled. "Oh my God. I can't believe it."

Kate repeated herself. "What? What can't you believe?"

I glanced at Kate. "Edward. He… he has _a_ _tattoo?"_

"Oh." She looked at him out the window. "Yeah he got it about a year ago. You hadn't seen it?"

I shook my head. "No. We hadn't seen each other in about a year and a half. I can't believe he did that. I never imagined that he, of all people, would get a _tattoo_."

I glanced at Alice, and she was watching him too. I would have to guess by the way she was squinting and the small frown on her face that she'd not seen it before either.

Wait, I'd seen him shirtless over the past week; how had I not noticed it before now? I thought back to the couple of times I'd seen him without a shirt. After his run on Tuesday morning, when he bought the cream cheese; I remembered the sweaty chest and smirk on his face. After that I'd been so rattled I'd tried not to look at him. And in the laundry room, I was behind him when he was fixing the faucet, but off to his left just far enough that I missed it. It's a good thing, too because it wouldn't have mattered if Jasper had come down there; nothing would have stopped me. Just now, I would have noticed it but Lauren interrupted me and I looked away.

It was difficult to wrap my head around straight-laced, self-controlled, conservative _Edward_ _having a tattoo._ The contrast between what I thought I knew, what I believed him to be, and what was laid out before me, was a little unsettling, very intriguing, and downright fucking sexy.

I watched him more closely now, from a safe distance, trying to get a better look, but he was far enough away that I couldn't make out what the tattoo was.

Kate finally started to chuckle. "Okay, I think I've got my answer."

My eyes bulged a bit and my face flushed when I realized that I'd gotten so lost in watching him that I'd never answered her question. "Oh God. Sorry, I forgot what the question was."

She giggled again. "It's okay, really. I have pretty good intuition for this stuff. You like him, it's not a crime." She put a hand on my arm and waited until my eyes met hers. "I get it, the family and all the overlapping relationships. That must be a pretty tenuous situation for you. Trust me. I won't tell anyone. But you should have someone to talk to and if you aren't comfortable telling Rose and Alice, well then, maybe I can be that person."

So while we worked to scrub potatoes and clean asparagus we talked. I told her everything. For nearly a half an hour we stood in the kitchen without being interrupted and talked. I told her about liking him all through high school, and prom, and Tyler. She already knew about the Chicago trip from Garrett which is how she probably knew that I liked Edward before she'd ever gotten here. I told her how close we'd gotten in Hawaii, but then for the next six years I hardly saw him until now.

I told her how I'd thought something was happening between us, and the almost kiss in the laundry room, but now I was totally confused because of what happened when we'd run into Jessica. I told her that I was certain we were just friends because of his toast at the airport and the way he looked at me, I thought it was a message. But I didn't know for sure because he made a point of telling me he wasn't interested in Lauren and that was weird if we were just friends.

I sighed. "So yeah, I like him. I have my whole life, but he confuses the ever-living fuck out of me and kind of scares me. And I have no idea how Alice would react, but I don't want to cross that bridge until there's a reason to."

Kate offered a small smile. "Okay I have three words for you: Talk To Him."

I cringed. "Ugh. I don't know Kate. That's too hard… putting myself out there like that with him. It's not like its some random guy at the bar and if he's not interested it doesn't matter because I won't ever see him again." I shuddered.

"Bella, you've wanted him your whole life, and FYI, I don't have confirmation on it, but I think he's into you too. Sometimes you have to stick your neck out there. Both of you are stubborn and if neither of you are willing to take the risk, well, hell you might as well plan on another fifteen years of doing this dance. And that would be just pathetic when you _could_ be doing that."

She pointed out the window at the now very sleek, sweaty, and _tattooed_ Edward who was bent over pounding the stakes for the volleyball net into the ground. His shorts hung low enough that I could see the little dimples in his lower back.

I sighed. "Aw crap. How am I going to survive this weekend?"

She laughed. "Come on, I think most of the work is done for now. Let's go play a game of volleyball before dinner."

"Ugh, Kate, something you should know. Never try to involve me in sports involving flying balls or swinging objects. I'm lethal."

"Really? Well I was on the state championship girl's volleyball team my sophomore, junior and senior years. You can be on my team and you won't have to do anything."

"I appreciate the offer, but I don't have to actually do something to hurt myself or someone else. Besides, I was up pretty late last night. I think I'll watch."

"Okay, suit yourself." Kate jogged outside.

I grabbed another beer from the fridge and headed out to the patio. Unfortunately, by the time I got outside there was already a volleyball tournament in the makings and I was informed that sitting out would throw off the teams. I tried to back off anyway, but short of throwing a temper tantrum, I wasn't given any wiggle room on the issue.

Emmett looked at me with a grin, "I'll tell ya what Bells, you, Jessica, and Lauren can be captains."

I looked past Emmett, my eyes landing on Edward whose arm was caught in Lauren's clutches. She was leaning into him giggling, pushing her ridiculous fake breasts into his shoulder and she had wrapped one arm completely around his bicep.

I rolled my eyes and huffed out a breath, "You know nothing good can come from this, right? We're too far away from the closest Emergency Room."

Emmett chuckled and nodded towards Edward. "Why do you think he's here?"

I looked at Edward again who was now trying to politely pull away from Lauren, and then at everyone else standing there waiting for me. When my eyes met Kate's she flashed a smile and winked.

"Fine, whatever, if someone gets hurt, the blood's on your hands, okay?" I smirked at Emmett.

"Thatta girl." Emmett wrapped his huge arm around neck and pulled me into a bear hug, ruffling my hair with his other hand.

There was some conversation outlining rules; two guys and two girls per team, a few coin flips to establish who would pick and play first, and then Emmett clapped and rubbed his hands together. "Okay, let's get this game going. Losers are winner's beer bitches for the night. Baby Bel picks first, then Lauren, and then Jessica."

"Kate." I said immediately, smiling.

Kate jogged towards me grinning and gave me a high five. "We got this girl."

Lauren leaned towards me and whispered. "Thanks roomie." Then she stood up straight, smiled, and innocently twirled a strand of her dry bleached blonde hair around a finger and practically crooned, "I pick Edward."

I rolled my eyes and looked at Kate who was stifling a laugh. When I turned back towards my friends, Edward was staring at me with a furrowed brow. He was not happy. I shrugged and chuckled, waiting for Jessica to make her pick.

A few minutes later, our teams were picked and Kate, Tyler, Emmett, and I were serving to Lauren, Edward, Rose, and Jasper, while Jessica, Mike, Alice, and Garrett retreated to the deck to watch the game.

Surprisingly, I wasn't half bad at serving the ball because I got it over the net and within the boundaries most of the time. Every time the ball came towards me, Em, Kate or Tyler was there to call it, letting me jump out of their way. Well, except for the one time Lauren had managed to actually hit the ball over the net, straight at me, when everyone else was too far away to save me. Of course, I defensively flailed my arms and made contact in more of a swinging motion that sent the ball sailing up towards the deck instead of back over the net.

Lauren squealed and ran towards Edward jumping at him, wrapping her arms and legs completely around him, apparently celebrating the fact that she'd managed to score a point.

"This is volleyball Bella, not baseball!" Mike laughed from the deck.

Emmett tossed a dirty look at Mike, then called us together to huddle.

"It's okay Bel, one of us should have been there." He patted my shoulder.

"Don't worry about it," Kate said, turning to look at Lauren's team. Edward had set Lauren back on the ground and also shot a dirty look at Mike as he and Lauren moved to take their places at the net. "Em or Tyler, do you think you can set me up at the net?"

"Sure thing." Emmett grinned, nodding in understanding of Kate's plan.

Emmett clapped his hands and we took our places.

Tyler served, Jasper returned it, and as I stood on the sidelines the next few seconds seemed to move in slow motion.

The ball arced slowly over the net to Emmett who then tipped it off his fingertips back towards Kate up near the net.

Kate, tall, stunning, and lithe leapt up in the air, back arched, seemingly hanging there until the ball reached its perfect position before she brought her arm down on the ball with a thwack.

Garrett's voice rang out. "That's right! _That's_ my baby!"

Lauren had a fraction of a second to yelp, tuck into a crouching position, and cross her arms at the wrists over her face just before the ball came crashing down at her. It ricocheted off the top of her head and bounced off to the side of the yard into some bushes.

Garrett's cheering fell to a choked whisper-laugh. "Oh shit."

Then all was silent for several long seconds as all eyes were on Lauren. She slowly righted herself again, shaking out her slightly flattened hair and glared at Kate. But then her eyes flicked towards me and her expression morphed into a mixture of hurt and fury.

It wasn't until everyone else's gaze shifted my direction and I heard the echo of the loud snort and guffaw that had burst forth from me that I realized I was shaking uncontrollably in raucous laughter. I clasped my hands over my mouth and started shaking my head in apology, but there was no containing the chuckles and belly laughs; the more I tried to stop, the harder I laughed Tears started streaming through my eyes and I glanced at Edward, who was watching my total loss of control with wide-eyed amusement. When our eyes met he lost it too and he turned his back to hide his own laughter from his teammate only to be given away by the shaking in his shoulders.

Then Rosalie lost it and it was too much for poor Lauren. In a child-like fit she stomped her foot and her face twisted up as she started to cry and ran back up the stone steps towards the house.

Emmett threw his arms up. "Awe come on Lauren! There's no crying in volleyball!"

I glanced at Rosalie who rolled her eyes and tried to straighten her expression as she turned to jog off after her cousin. "Aw fuck. You guys get it together and I'll go calm her down."

Kate was the only one holding up; she looked rather sheepish. "Maybe I should go apologize?"

But Rosalie shook her head. "For what? It was a nice shot. She'll be fine. She's just a princess, she always has been."

Garrett laughed. "Nice sportsmanship Swan!"

I cringed but was still laughing. "Hey, I wasn't the only one laughing. Edward did too, and he's on her team!"

Edward stood abruptly from where he was retrieving the ball. "You started it."

I shrugged and walked over to take a drink while we waited for Rose and Lauren. Edward drained his beer and took a count on how many people needed refills before heading inside to collect them.

As he went in, Rosalie was coming back out. She walked down the stairs and we all waited for Lauren, but she never exited the cottage.

Kate asked, "Everything okay?"

Rosalie nodded. "Yeah, she's fine. But she doesn't want to play anymore. She said we're too competitive."

I was trying hard not to keep looking at the cottage where Lauren and Edward were currently alone inside when a thought hit me. "Hey, I'll quit too, so then the teams will be even and you guys can finish the game. I need to go clean the shrimp anyway."

Emmett and Jasper approved as representatives from the two teams and then Alice quit from their team to even it all out and the tournament continued.

I started cleaning up some of the empty bottles and just as I approached the door it slid open and a giggling Lauren stepped out followed by Edward who was smiling as well.

He stepped aside for me to pass. "Hey, where are you going?"

I noticed Lauren was standing outside the door, waiting for Edward to walk back with her.

"I've got shrimp to clean. Rose said Lauren didn't want to play anymore so Alice and I quit, evening out the teams."

Lauren put her hand on his shoulder. "Well Edward talked me back into it. He said he'd protect me."

I pasted on a tight smile. "Oh. Well isn't that sweet."

Edward cleared his throat nervously. "Well, but you didn't really want to. If Bella and Alice are okay sitting out then we should probably just keep the teams even. Right Bella?"

But I wasn't going to make it that easy on him. I shrugged. "I'm sure they won't mind playing three on four. I'm no loss to my team."

Edward shot me another dirty look just before I headed to the kitchen to start dinner.

When I checked the fridge I found that they had provided shrimp that were already shelled and cleaned; that must have been a change that Esme had requested. I never would have spent the money. So I turned the steaks in the marinade bath and watched a brief discussion out back that ended with Lauren joining the group around the patio and the rest of the teams continuing three on three. It was only a few more points before the game was finished and my remaining team won.

Lauren of course had to offer Edward a conciliatory hug which he returned at a safe distance and with an awkward pat on her shoulder.

Edward and Jasper started laughing about something and took seats at the patio table while Rose, Lauren, and Alice followed behind them. Of course, when Lauren inched her chair as close to Edward as she could before sitting down I finally stopped watching.

I seasoned the shrimp, skewered them, and was chopping tomatoes for the salad when I heard someone open the sliding glass door behind me. I kept working and waited for whoever it was to make small talk since I wasn't really in the mood.

A soft throat clearing sound grabbed my attention and I glanced over my shoulder to find Edward leaning against the counter watching me.

I threw him a quick smile and turned back to the tomatoes. "Whatcha doing?"

"I was hoping to help."

Just then the sliding glass door opened and Lauren came in. "There you are Edward. I thought you were just getting a beer."

He moved quickly to stand next to me at the counter and whispered in my ear. "Please, I need an escape."

I glanced around. "There's not much left to do. They stocked us with pre-cleaned shrimp, so I'm just making the salad. Other than that everything is done."

Lauren walked up and rested her hands on the counter of the island. She glanced at the table. "We could set the table, Edward. Would that help Bella?"

I nodded. "Yeah, sure. That would be great."

I heard him exhale a frustrated breath next to me but then he started opening cabinets in search of plates.

Lauren chatted away the whole time they were setting the table and Edward tried to be polite without encouraging her. He shot me a couple of uncomfortable looks. If her sights were set on anyone else it would have been comical, but since it was Edward, I really just wanted to claw her eyes out.

When they were done setting the table he brought an extra fork back to the kitchen and put it back in the drawer. He leaned close to my ear and whispered, "Thanks for the help."

I looked up and his eyes were dark, his lips pinched together.

He turned and walked out of the kitchen with stiff movements. Lauren followed immediately. Just before they closed the door I heard Lauren suggesting they go for a walk down towards the beach.

I set my hands on the counter and tipped my head back. "Crap."

He'd come to me for help with getting Lauren off his back and all I'd done was push him further in her direction. It wasn't intentional, but that was how it had ended up.

I leaned on the counter and stared into the salad bowl. I needed to get a grip on things. Yes, I liked him. Okay so the Jessica situation had hurt my feelings, but for some reason I was letting Lauren get completely under my skin. And I could not figure out why it bothered me so much.

Was I jealous? Not really, he wasn't showing any interest in return. So what bugged me about it?

She was just so brazen about it. Like she didn't have a care in the world. She touched him, she flirted, she giggled, hell she was throwing herself at him. That's exactly what it was; she was doing all the things that I'd never had the guts to do.

I was just finishing up the salad and covering it with plastic wrap when Tyler stuck his head in the side door.

"Hey, how's it going in here? Need some help?"

"Nope. All done for now. When everyone's ready to eat, we'll just fire up the grill."

"They started the next game, so how about that walk?"

I nodded. "Sure."

As I washed my hands he got a couple more beers from the fridge and handed me one of them before I followed him out the door.

We passed Emmett and Kate on the patio as we headed down towards the beach. I noticed Edward watching us as we skirted the boundaries of the volleyball game. Unfortunately, Garrett noticed his distraction as well and fired a hard serve that he missed. I pretended not to notice as we walked across the yard, but inside I was giggling just like Garrett was.

There were a few large rocks lining the beach and we picked one big enough that we could both sit on it. I hooked my arm through his and tugged him close. If we were going to talk about his divorce I wanted to offer as much physical and emotional support as I could.

We sat in silence for a few minutes and then I finally spoke first. "So, she had an affair, but you took her back?"

He nodded and stared out over the water. "I even talked to my boss and took a demotion so I wouldn't have to travel as much because that seemed to be her biggest issue. I gave up my season tickets and she and I went on a long weekend. Everything seemed better; we even talked a couple of times about trying to get pregnant soon. But then she had to work late a few times and I got suspicious. So I set her up. I told her I had to go on an overnight business trip to Seattle, packed a bag and left in the morning. I checked in several times that day and she seemed good; she was talking about buying new furniture. I felt like shit and decided to bag it; I was going to tell her the trip was cancelled."

He kept his eyes forward on the water, but I think he was actually seeing that night in his head again. "I picked up some flowers and a bottle of wine and went home. Unfortunately, I'd been right all along. He was there, in my bed. They didn't even notice I was standing there watching until I threw the bottle of wine at the mirror."

I gasped and palmed my mouth. "Oh my God!"

He cleared his throat and turned back to face me. His eyes were bloodshot with unshed tears and his voice was thick. "So that was it. I went back the next day when she was at work and moved all my shit out. Aside from a few days later when she showed up at my office I haven't seen her since."

"She showed up where you work?"

He nodded. "Yep, She started bawling before I could say a word. I took her by the arm and escorted her outside the front doors. I told her if she ever showed up there again I'd call the police."

He took another deep breath. I had no idea what to say to him.

"So I filed for divorce. We're doing it all over email because I won't take her calls. I think we're going to sell the house; I sure as hell don't ever want to set foot in it again. Since she always worked and we don't have kids I should be able to walk away and just start over. So that's that."

I squeezed his arm. "I'm really sorry Ty. No one should have to go through that."

"Nope. No one should. But I'll be alright and I'll land on my feet."

I watched him for a few minutes. "You know, it's okay if you don't bounce right back from this one. I know you were really in love with her."

He nodded, swallowed hard and watched the water wash over the sand in front of us. When I saw a tear run down his cheek I leaned my head on his shoulder and cried with him.

After a few minutes he took a deep breath, wrapped his arm around my shoulder and squeezed. "You're a good friend Bella."

I chuckled. "I try."

"You succeed. You know I wonder if you and I would be as good friends if it hadn't been for Edward that night."

I laughed. "Definitely. Besides, I refuse to give that man credit for doing anything right that night. He was an ass."

Tyler chuckled. "Aw, he wasn't that bad. I think his intentions were good."

"Oh my God! They so were not! If you only knew!"

He laughed now. "That's right. If only I knew… but you'd never tell me."

"Nope. And I'm still not going to."

There was some loud cheering behind us and we turned to see that the game had ended. Tyler stood and offered me a hand. "Come on, let's go join the party."

"Okay."

As we walked up the yard Edward grabbed my arm. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

But his eyes kept shifting between me and Tyler, so I had a feeling of what was on his agenda and wasn't at all interested; I felt a sudden rush of déjà vu. "Maybe later? I need to go start dinner."

I pulled away from him and called out to the rest of the group. "Who's going to run the grill?"

Garrett threw his hand up. "I can grill like a mother-fucker."

I laughed at his enthusiasm and childish mannerism. "Okay, fire it up."

I walked into the kitchen and had just started slicing the French bread when the door was pushed open again.

"Okay, okay, stop being so pushy." I looked up to see Edward literally dragging Kate in the door.

He pulled her all the way into the kitchen until she was standing right next to me.

Then he turned to me and gently wrapped his fingers around the wrist of the hand that I was holding the knife in and pried it from my grasp.

"Bella, Kate here has kindly agreed to finish getting dinner ready for everyone." He handed her the knife, which she took with a smile.

I looked from Edward to Kate and back to Edward again with astonishment. "Why?"

"Because you and I need to talk and we need to do it now. And I'm not listening to any more excuses, so…" His words trailed off and he finished by gesturing to Kate, obviously not leaving me any options.

Then he grabbed my hand and started pulling me around the island. When we got to the living room he stopped and started looking around, obviously not sure where to take me.

Kate spoke up from the kitchen. "I heard Alice and Jasper talking; if you take the trail on the edge of the yard it will lead you through the woods to a little picnic area; there's a table and everything. Very private."

Edward looked out the back sliding door and pointed to the woods. "Over there?"

She nodded then just before he pulled me out the door I glanced back in time to see her mouth 'talk to him'.

He pulled me past everyone sitting at the patio table, including Lauren, who was watching us with obvious interest. We walked around the football game that had picked up again and then along the edge of the yard until he found the trail. Once on the trail he slowed down a little, but didn't let go of my hand or say anything.

I glanced at him once, but his eyes were angry and focused on the trail, watching for every root and branch that could possibly cause one of us to trip or get scratched. When a root did pop up, he would gently tug my hand and pull me around it, making sure I didn't trip. When there was a branch in my way, he'd step in front of me and push it out of my way.

His whole demeanor had me agitated and by the time we reached the picnic table I was firing off angry glances at him. He walked me to it and made me sit on one side, but he kept pacing back and forth in front of me for a moment.

The longer he paced, the more angry I became. So I finally just stood up again and started back up the trail the way we'd come.

"Bella stop."

"Why? I know how this is going to go and I'm not interested in having the same conversation again."

"How could you possibly know what I'm thinking?"

"Because you've been thinking and doing the same damn things for almost fifteen years Edward!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you realize that whenever you were around I was never able to date anyone? No one seriously anyway. You made sure of that."

His head jerked back and his eyes widened defensively. "I never stopped you."

I nodded and took a step closer. "Yes you did. Either directly or indirectly. Every time I showed interest in someone else, you'd jump in and mess it up. Mike told me how you used to discourage everyone on the team from dating me. That's why he never asked me out until after you graduated. Even Tyler. You literally ran him off. "

"Well, but you know why –"

I held up a hand to stop him. "Just stop. I know what you said. But there's no way for you to know what would have actually happened. Besides, give me some credit Edward. I was seventeen, not twelve, and if I wanted to make out with Tyler then I had every right to do just that. You didn't get to make decisions for me then and you don't get to now."

"But –"

"I'm not finished. I haven't started with how you would manipulate me."

He gasped. "I didn't manipulate you."

"Maybe not intentionally, but you did. And you're still doing it now. Maybe you don't even realize all the signals you throw at me. The little touches, the squeezing my hand and telling me how much you're enjoying your time with me. But then we run into someone we know and you just shut it all down again and pull the old 'we're just friends' card. It's fucking high school all over again.

So I'm done. Edward. Done. No more touches, or looks, or making a point to tell me you're not interested in Lauren. It's none of my business. If you decide that you want something more than a friendship with me, then make a clear decision about it and come and talk to me. But no more games."

I'm going to spend this weekend with my friends. You hear that? Friends... all of them. Including Tyler. Because as long as we're 'just friends' which is what you told Jessica yesterday, and also emphasized in the airport today, then I will do what I want, with whomever I want, and whenever I want. So no more territorial bullshit or dragging me into the woods and grilling me over any of it."

He nodded. "Okay. I didn't mean to send mixed signals."

"And you know what, even if we were dating, I'd expect you to show me a little more respect than this. I mean, shit, you call Alec a Neanderthal! You might as well have dragged me out here by my hair."

He nodded again. "You're right. Again, my apologies. "

Wow, this was a very agreeable Edward. I was expecting him to argue. I didn't know how to work with this Edward. I usually fed off his snarky comebacks. But this quiet nodding thing was sucking the wind out of my sails.

I thought about asking him what parts were genuine, but didn't know if I was prepared to hear his answer right now. I felt shaken.

I sighed and propped my hands on my hips. "It's okay. For now, for this weekend, let's just put it behind us and have fun."

He took a step towards me and held my gaze. "No, I really am sorry. For everything; always."

I bit the corner of my lip, nodded, and dropped my eyes because the look in his eyes was so intense. "Apology accepted."

"And at the very least we are friends, aren't we Bella?"

I looked up at him again because that question surprised me. But I could tell he really needed me to answer it. "Of course Edward. We've always been friends."

"Thank you."

He sighed and gave me a relieved smile. "Okay then. As a friend, can I ask why, exactly, won't you help me with the Lauren situation? Seriously, Bella, she has no boundaries; just tried to grab my junk."

I burst out laughing, glad to have the tension lifted. "Seriously?"

"Seriously! Would I make that up? Can you please help me to get her to back off."

"No, see that goes back to me not making decisions for you either. It wasn't my job to intervene between you and someone else anymore than you should do that to me. If you aren't interested, then you should just tell her you aren't interested."

"I will. Can I tell her I'm involved? That would probably be a little easier on her ego."

"By the way you just dragged me out here, I think she'll assume that you're involved with me." I glanced away again.

He waited for me to look back at him and when I did, he was serious again. "Is that such a bad thing?"

"No, it's just that Alice and Emmett would likely hear about it by the end of the weekend."

He tipped his head back and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Good point. Well, how about we cross that bridge when we come to it?"

I nodded in agreement. "Okay."

My head was reeling from that conversation. I had really put him in his place and he hadn't argued back with me at all.

Did he just suggest we let Alice find out that we were involved? He'd said we should cross that bridge when we came to it. But he didn't put up a single roadblock_._

**Edward**

I stole little glances at her on the walk back. She was smiling the whole time.

As we grew closer the smell of the steaks on the grill greeted my senses. My stomach growled in recognition. "Did you season the steaks like you did for the shish kebobs?"

She grinned. "Yep. I knew you liked it."

My pace quickened a bit inadvertently and she giggled.

"So, when are you going to give Em and Rose your gift?"

She shrugged one shoulder. "The video? I was thinking about doing it tonight, but the system looks complicated and I haven't had a chance to figure it out."

"Well give it to me, I'll queue it up for you and we can watch it during dinner."

She nodded. "Okay, thanks. It's upstairs. I'll run up and grab it."

We exited the trail and walked back up the yard, gathering curious looks from several people. Garrett looked like a twelve-year old girl as he watched us crossing the yard. I half expected him to break out and start singing _'Bella and Edward sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G'_.

As we stepped up onto the patio Bella spoke over her shoulder to me. "I'll go grab it out of my bag if you want to get it set up."

I nodded. "Okay. I'll be in the living room."

Before we had reached the deck of the cottage the glass door slid open and Lauren stepped out. She tried to appear surprised that I was standing there, but it wasn't genuine. She'd also changed clothes and put on another unnecessary coat of makeup. "Hey guys! Where'd you disappear to?"

Bella glanced at me as she slipped past her in the door. Her eyebrows were raised in question and I gave her a quick nod to tell her I was okay.

"Lauren, how about you come and talk with me for a second. Do you mind?"

Of course she beamed up at me and nodded quickly. "Sure, where to?"

I glanced down at the end of the deck at the porch swing that was currently unoccupied. "Let's just go down here. It'll only take a minute."

Her enthusiasm dimmed substantially but she followed me anyway. I took a seat on my side of the bench and waited for her to take hers as well. "So listen, I think that I should probably explain something to you, because I get the feeling that you might be looking for something to happen between you and me this weekend."

She was still wide eyed as she nodded.

"I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I'm kind of involved with someone at the moment."

Lauren frowned and glanced at the door that Bella had disappeared through. "Oh. Well if you mean Bella, she's the one that told me you were single."

_Was she actually arguing with me? _"I'm sure she did. Bella's not the type of person to label someone without their permission. If you're asking me, then I'm telling you that I'm not available. Okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

She stopped me with a hand on my arm. "Oh, hey Edward, what do you know about Tyler?"

I couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Well I don't like to label people either, but I think that might be a possibility."

The gleam was back in her eyes just that quick, and as I walked back inside she started scoping out the patio where Mike and Tyler were talking. No matter what Bella said, I would feel much better if Tyler were a little more preoccupied. Lauren could provide a very good distraction.

I went to the living room and started fiddling with the stereo and DVD player. It was an impressively high-end system but surprisingly easy to use. Bella would have figured it out pretty quickly if she'd had the chance to look at it. She gave me the DVD and I loaded it up for her and showed her how to start it.

Kate had dinner set up in a buffet style on the island when Jasper brought the steaks in and a line formed quickly.

Emmett and Rosalie took opposite ends of the table and the rest of us filled in around them. Naturally we sat in couples and since Lauren's sights were now fixed on Tyler, that left me and Bella together, something I couldn't be happier about.

Just before we started eating, Rosalie moved to stand next to Emmett at his end of the table and he clinked his beer bottle with a spoon.

We all turned our attention to them as Emmett started speaking. "So, we just wanted to thank you guys all for coming with us on this little trip. We asked for a fun weekend away with our closest friends and Mom and Dad delivered. Edward, Bella, Alice, and Jasper, we know that you participated in planning this weekend. Well done, well planned and thank you; we wouldn't change a thing."

Rosalie continued. "We could have gone the more traditional route of bachelor and bachelorette parties at the bar, but frankly this was what we both wanted… a weekend with our closest friends to celebrate our youth and the start of our life together. So thank you all for coming."

Jasper picked up his beer. "To Emmett and Rosalie and the start of a happy life together."

We all toasted and just before everyone started to eat again Bella stood up. She glanced at me nervously. "Um, everyone go ahead and start eating. I just wanted to give Emmett and Rose my gift. It's a little… um… well it's not the normal thing most people do."

Her cheeks were pinking up and it was obvious that she was a little embarrassed as she stumbled over her words.

She cleared her throat and picked up the remote control. "So, your parents helped me out. They dug through your old photos and home movies to add to what Alice and I had. Over the past few months I watched a lot of your lives develop through film and… on… on…"

Her cheeks were even brighter now. "Well on my TV at home. Anyway, I took it all to a company in Seattle and they helped me… um…you know…" She was snapping her fingers trying to think of the word that she was looking for. "When you cut it up and put the pieces together?"

Mike was sitting across from her and arched one eyebrow at her mumbling. "Edit?"

She glanced at him, clearly embarrassed and her eyes started to get watery. Her face was bright red now and she nodded and looked at the remote then glanced sideways at me. "Yes they edited it for me." Her voice cut at the end there and she looked like she wasn't able to speak anymore.

I couldn't handle her obvious discomfort anymore and stood from my chair to help her. "Bella told me this week what she's been working on. Emmett and Rosalie, Bella has made a video tribute to your lives. Enjoy."

I eased the remote control out of her hand and aimed it at the DVD player and pushed play. She looked up at me and smiled. As music began to play, an image of two smiling babies appeared side by side, one clearly Emmett, dimples and all, the other a smiling blonde haired, blue eyed, Rosalie.

Bella leaned towards me and whispered. "Thank you. I always did hate public speaking, but my God, my mind just went completely blank."

I put a hand over hers and squeezed it. "You did fine. They're going to love it."

Sure enough, after ten minutes Rosalie was visibly emotional, which I don't think I'd ever seen before, and Emmett's eyes were watery. The video was a perfect blend of emotional benchmarks, nostalgia and humor. She zoomed in on Rosalie's large eighties hair and Emmett's attempt at a mullet from their early teen years. By the end of it, Alice was in tears, and everyone but Mike had forgotten their meals.

As the music wound down, the credits rolled. And it was a simple saying: _To Rosalie and Emmett,_ _May the brightest days of your past dim in comparison to the darkest days of your future. Love forever and always, IMS._

Emmett and Rosalie both hugged Bella and thanked her and she handed them both a couple of DVDs. "These are for both of you. I had all of your original VHS and 8mm videos compiled onto these. I also have copies for your parents since they helped dig them out."

Garrett spoke up. "Put them on. I have got to see more of Carlisle in those killer plaid pants again."

Bella glanced at him. "Well those aren't edited. It's all the original footage."

But I agreed. There was probably some good stuff there. "We should. I don't know about you guys, but I haven't seen those movies in years."

Emmett walked over to the DVD player and put the first one on. "Bella has kindly labeled them, so we'll start with Rosalie, birth through ninth birthday. Then we'll alternate and put my first one on."

I spent most of dinner thinking about our talk in the woods. I was shocked by how she tore into me, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that it was long overdue. The situation with Jessica wasn't the first time something like that had happened with Bella.

Over and over again she and I would come close to taking that next step and then something would happen and I'd panic and chicken out, just like in Hawaii. We'd been dancing along the edge of 'almost dating' for far too long. It was frustrating and exhausting and Bella had clearly had her fill of the confusion.

So I decided right there in the woods that from this point on I would be very clear with my intentions. For now, for the rest of this weekend, we might be just friends. But very soon I was going to change that. I felt like I was standing on the precipice of a cliff, and for most of my life I'd been too scared to jump. My cowardliness had always come at the expense of her feelings. But now I was ready, hell I couldn't wait. But I couldn't pull her over it with me, we needed to jump together. For now, we'd just wait until the time was right.

After dinner was cleaned up we all went back outside to finish the last game of the tournament. It was not a surprise that Bella, Kate, Emmett, and Tyler had been declared the winners. Now we had to play Garrett, Mike, Alice and Jessica's team to determine who would be the beer bitches for the night. It wasn't even close, so the game played out in a less competitive fashion and more in fun. Of course, I appropriately rubbed it in Garrett's face.

I was still razzing him as we were carrying firewood down to the beachside fire pit for a bonfire. Honestly, Garrett and Emmett had volunteered us to build the fire and I knew damn well why, so I was doing the best I could to distract him.

He grimaced at me "Yeah, yeah, say whatever you want. We were handicapped with both Alice and Jessica, neither of whom could hit the broadside of a barn, but refused to move out of the damn way to let anyone else get to it."

"But whatever, you won, I lost, moving on. What happened with you and Bella in the woods?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? Right. I saw you drag her ass out there all caveman like, and you want me to believe _nothing_ happened?"

I dropped the wood I was carrying and looked at him. "We talked about some of the stuff that happened yesterday with Jessica. That's it. No crazy woods sex. Nothing."

"How did you leave it?"

But before I could answer Emmett interrupted. "What happened yesterday?"

I huffed a frustrated breath and tipped my head to the side to pop my neck. "Nothing much, really. Since I've been home, Bella and I have been sort of hanging out, and we went Forks on Wednesday."

He nodded. "Yeah, I heard."

"Okay, well we ran into Jessica and she assumed we were dating, and I tried to clarify, but I didn't handle it very well."

He frowned, clearly looking for the rest of the story. "How _should_ you have handled it?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to Bella about."

His eyebrows arched upwards and he crossed his arms in a protective brother stance. It was funny, he was my brother, but he was not being protective of me at all. "And?"

I grinned and looked out of the water. "And she tore me a new asshole."

Emmett crossed his arms over his puffed out chest. "Why?"

"Because I deserved it. She says I do one thing and then say another, mixed signals and all that. And she's right."

Emmett's chest puffed up even bigger and he scowled at me. "What does that mean? You're like messing with her head?"

I gave a little nod. "I guess unintentionally I kind of was. But don't worry Em, she can take care of herself."

Garrett arched one eyebrow at me. "So where do you stand?"

I kicked a rock into the firepit. "For now the party line is 'just friends' but I'm working on it."

Garrett erupted into laughter, bent over and started clapping his hands. "That is such a fucking Edward Cullen way of phrasing things. Jesus Christ can you even say the words 'hope to fuck soon'?"

But Emmett quickly turned and punched him square in the chest. "No he fucking can't! Not when we're talking about Baby Bel"

Garrett stumbled backwards. "Ow! Shit dude, sorry. But Emmett seriously, do you think the girl's wearing a chastity belt for Christ's sake? I mean shit, an hour ago you were reading that book with me and calling it hot chick porn."

Emmett visibly shuddered. "Well that's different, that's a book. It's easy to forget who wrote it. This is Bella we're talking about and…"

He turned and pointed at me. "Dude, you're my brother and I love you, but if you make her cry like you did in Chicago that one time I will _Fuck. You. Up_."

I held my hands up in front of me defensively. "And I'll deserve it. But I'm going to be careful here; I have no intentions of hurting her. But relax, at this point, nothing is even happening."

He squinted. "Does Alice know any of this?"

I shook my head. "No. There hasn't been anything worth telling. But, I'm going to talk to her before I do anything. Don't worry."

He nodded as he started stacking the wood in the fire pit. "Okay, well you know she'll be all kinds of giddy, so I wouldn't sweat it, but make sure you talk to her. It would piss her off if she heard about it from someone else."

Garrett was watching us and his face lit up. "Do you think Alice knows about the book?"

I rolled my eyes. "Of course she knows Bella wrote a book. But no, I doubt Alice is ridiculous enough to dream up any of your theories."

Garrett arched an eyebrow at me skeptically. "Ridiculous? Emmett agrees with me don't you Emmett?"

"Yep, I think Baby Bel had it bad for you Edward all these years and you never knew it."

I rolled my eyes. "Emmett did you even _read_ the book?"

"Well no. But Garrett did and he's given me the Cliffs Notes version and I think he makes some very valid points."

"Based on what exactly?"

Garrett started to talk but I held up a hand to stop him. "I want to hear it from Emmett. You said he agrees with you so I want him to tell me why."

Emmett started twisting up newspaper and shoving it between the logs. "First of all, the ending, the part on the beach… that part I read. In fact, do you remember where you were when I found you on the beach that night?"

I thought about it. "Not really, why?"

"Because you were sitting on the steps of a lifeguard stand, that's why. And in the book they did it _under_ a lifeguard stand."

I threw my hands up in the air. "It was a beach. There really aren't that many places to sit if you don't want to sit in the sand. And as far as the book goes, well, if you wanted privacy and you were on a beach, where else would you go? I told you before, I'll tell you again, nothing happened."

Emmett studied me. "For real? You two were awfully cozy."

"For real! Trust me, if I did, I would totally own that shit. Unfortunately, I didn't."

Garrett scratched his head and thought about it. "There's just too many coincidences. It has to be about you, it just has to be."

"Garrett, you're seeing what you want to see. Trust me, I wish it were true. But seriously, there are just as many arguments against your theory, as there are for it. For example," I started listing them off on my fingers. "I don't play professional baseball- albeit the number is a coincidence, but plenty of people would pick number thirteen. I did take her to prom, but I didn't get all emo and tell her how much I wanted her. The blood drive, well duh, that would be a pretty monumental moment in her life, so it stands to reason that she would re-use that. I've never run off a date of hers before, furthermore, we've never been to a wedding together before your upcoming nuptials."

Emmett looked up again. "Wait, what about prom? I seem to remember some drama at prom that year."

Garrett says "What about? Was there another guy there?"

Emmett shakes his head and tries to remember, "I bet Alice would remember. Edward and I were splitting a flask of vodka, so it's all pretty fuzzy."

Garrett looks at me. "So you were drinking at your prom! Emmett, did Eddie get bombed?"

He shook his head. "Not that I remember, I did though. You remember that Edward, that chick Adrian was so freaking mad. She never talked to me again after that."

Garrett's eyes got really wide and he turned to Emmett with a hopeful expression. "You didn't by chance blow chunks in the limo did you?"

Emmett shook his head and laughed. "The bushes."

Garrett frowned. "Okay, well that's probably where the limo puking came from, she took some creative liberties there, but that doesn't really mean anything. She probably did that deliberately so that it wouldn't be too obvious."

I started laughing. "Garrett, seriously, it's a work of fiction, and it's entirely possible that there are parts that she made up entirely on her own you know."

His face scrunched up. "Yes, I know, but I still think there's more that we're missing."

He stopped talking for a while and was clearly rolling it all over in his mind while we finished the fire.

By the time darkness fell there was a roaring fire and twelve lawn chairs spread about it.

Bella had taken a seat between Alice and Tyler across the fire from me. I was a bit disappointed, but it did allow me to have a clear view of her. She and Tyler had gone for another walk and I was trying not to get jealous, but it was difficult. They were close, that much was obvious and I'd had the pleasure of watching him before he walked to his cottage with his head hanging low. He really did look like a guy who'd been split wide open. He was also oblivious of Lauren's new interest.

There was some idle chitchat for a while and a bottle of peppermint schnapps was passed around while Jessica brought out a tray to build s'mores.

I was walking to the bathroom when I heard Alice suggesting a game so that we could all get to know each other a little better. When I returned they'd decided to pass the Schnapp's around the circle and play Never Ever Have I Ever.

I chuckled to myself. Alice had grown into a sophisticated and professional young woman, but at heart she was still a thirteen year old girl who could talk a group of adults into playing a grown-up version of truth or dare.

It took a couple of rounds before anyone was willing to get particularly daring with it, but it got interesting when it was Rosalie's turn. "Never Ever have I Ever… had sex in a public place."

There was raucous laughter as Tyler, Emmett, Rosalie, Garrett, Kate, Jasper and oh for the love of God, my sister, all drank. Tyler got up to excuse himself and nearly fell over his lawn chair on his way up to the cottage. He'd had a lot to drink and I wondered if someone should cut him off soon.

Rosalie passed the bottle to Kate, who shot a look at Bella and began. "Never ever have I ever… kissed a Cullen."

Predictably, Rosalie, and Jessica drank. Notably Bella drank as well and everyone noticed.

_Shit._

Alice's mouth fell open and her eyes were as big as saucers. She got one word out. "When?"

Jasper leaned over. "Honey they were gone for nearly an hour in the woods today. I think it's pretty obvious."

Bella started coughing. "I did not kiss Edward today. We talked. Period."

Alice squinted at her. "You two have been spending a lot of time together."

"No Alice. Nothing has happened since he's been home."

Garrett's head jerked in my direction and he snapped his fingers. "I knew it. You liar. You were totally fucking lying. _Almost_ kissed her my ass!"

Alice said "Wait, what? When did you almost kiss Bella?"

Emmett answered for me. "Hawaii Alice. Remember how close they were? I knew it!"

Bella had been following the banter like a tennis ball at Wimbledon. "Wait. You knew what?"

Emmett leaned forward. "That night on the beach. The last night. He walked you home so you could see the stars. Alice heard that people were getting mugged on the beach at night so I went looking for you. You were about to… dude, you were _so_ about to kiss her!"

Bella objected, shaking her head frantically. "But he didn't. We didn't!"

Garrett. "And why didn't you Edward?"

Kate interjected. "Guys, clearly, something almost happened in Hawaii, but didn't and we don't need to publicly dissect what or why something didn't happen. But Bella did drink, so you guys kissed at one point, unless it was Emmett or Alice."

Everyone turned to Emmett but he didn't catch on and kept staring at me, waiting for an explanation. Rosalie put a hand on his arm, her nails were clearly digging in. "Emmett, honey, did you…"

He looked at his arm. "Ow, what? Why are you?" He finally saw the look on her face. "What? No! No! I never kissed Bella." Then he turned back to Bella with a frown. "Did I? I mean I didn't, did I?

Bella laughed. "No Emmett, we never kissed."

He made a sour face and shivered. "Good… I mean… not that you're not hot…" He looks back at Rosalie. "I mean, you're hotter Rose," Then Bella again, "but just … good that we never ... So you and Alice then huh? Wow sis, didn't know you swung that way."

"Shut up Emmett, obviously not." Alice's face was glowing with excitement. "So seriously Bella, you and my brother? When? Where? If it wasn't in Hawaii, when was it? And how come you never told me?"

Bella "Alice, geeze, one at a time. No, like Edward said, nothing happened in Hawaii. It happened a long time ago. It's not even worth discussing."

I snorted. "Oh wow. Thanks for _that_. Careful not to overdo it there Swan. I don't know if my ego can take it."

She winced and gave me an apologetic look. "Sorry, you know what I mean."

I glanced at Jessica and saw that her expression visibly darkened when Bella said that it happened a long time ago. I knew what she was probably thinking and made a mental note to talk to her sometime tomorrow about it.

Garrett threw his hands in the air. "Okay, I'm fucking dying here. When did this shit – " he stopped and snapped his fingers. "Prom! It was prom wasn't it?"

Bella and Alice both snorted. "No."

Garrett cocked an eyebrow at both of them but Alice filled him in. "Edward was an asshole at prom."

_What? _I exhaled a surprised breath.

Bella interjected. "He apologized."

Alice glared at me. "He should."

Bella smirked. "Even if he hadn't been an asshole I wouldn't have been kissing him that night. It would not have been pleasant."

I shot her a warning look. "Bella…."

She frowned at me. "Oh relax. It's not like your parents are going to ground you even if Alice does tell them now."

Alice looked at her. "Tell them what? What would I tell them?"

"Well… okay, remember what happened?"

She nodded and shot me another dirty look.

Bella continued. "Well, he did apologize to me. And while he was babbling out his apology his words started to slur, and he started to wobble quite a bit. I realized that he'd had a bit too much of Emmett''s flask so I took him to the limo."

I looked at Garrett who was listening with rapt attention and turned to me at that point. His mouth was hanging open, eyes wide. "Did you…?"

Bella started nodding and giggling. "Thank God they have ice buckets in limos."

I shot Garrett a sharp look, but Bella started talking. "It's one of my fondest Edward moments. In fact I even used it in my book if any of you remember that part."

Emmett started busting up laughing smacking his knee.

Garrett had assumed a very smug expression and was giving me an 'I told you so' look. I rolled my eyes in response, because honestly this proved nothing.

But Alice held up a hand. "After what he did, you took care of him, and you never said a word to anyone?"

Bella shrugged.

Alice glared at me. "Did she even tell you that you made her cry that night?"

Everything stopped. "I did?"

I looked from Alice to Bella, who was now fiddling with the label on her beer bottle. "Shut it Alice."

"Wait, no, I don't remember much of that night. What did I do?"

Alice looked at me. "Karen Vandersloot ring a bell?"

I thought about it but shook my head slowly. "No."

"You and Bella were dancing that night and Karen Vandersloot was taking pictures for the paper. Apparently she thought you guys looked good together and told you that you made a cute couple. But you went all bachelor butthead and made a big stink about how you weren't a couple and I had set that whole thing up. Poor Bella got her feelings hurt so bad I found her crying in the bathroom while you were going all booze hound with Emmett."

Bella never looked up from her beer bottle and she snapped at Alice. "Like I said. He apologized…" Then she smirked and added, "profusely. And that's exactly why I didn't tell you that he tossed his cookies in the limo. Because you were so freaking mad that you would have told your parents. But, seriously, Alice, it was fine by the end of the night."

Bella had another silly smile that told me I might have possibly said some things that night that I would probably be pretty embarrassed about if I remembered them.

Garrett shot me another knowing look and his eyes shifted from me to Bella and back again. He nodded slowly.

_Oh shit. If I said anything like what she actually wrote in that book, I should really have my man card revoked._

We heard Tyler up near the cottage making some similar sounds to those I probably did on prom night. Bella turned in her chair and groaned.

"I'm going to go help him to bed. Emmett, you think you could give me a hand?"

He nodded and stood up.

They hustled away from the fire and as I watched her jog across the yard I thought again about the ass chewing I'd received in the woods today. Yep, prom was just another stunning example of my amazing capacity for dickheadedness. The only reason I was even drinking that night was because I was so nervous to be going with Bella. And obviously I had no business doing that since I behaved like such a dick. I can't believe she never told anyone about the puking after what I did.

Alice interrupted my thoughts. "So the reminiscing was fun, but we still don't have an answer. When did you kiss Bella?"

Garrett looked like he was ready to bounce out of his seat. Or maybe he wanted to take dictation so that he could compare notes with the book. Whatever, they weren't getting anything out of me. I shook my head and took a sip of my beer.

There was a round of disappointed sighs and 'aws' before Garrett waved his arm to shush everyone. "Dude, you can't just shut it down. You gotta spill. When? Where? With tongue? Was there gropage? Horizontal or vertical?"

I couldn't help but start laughing. I ran a hand through my hair and just kept shaking my head. "Garrett, she's right inside, and if she wanted anyone here to know she would have said something at some point. So no, I don't have to spill."

Thankfully the subject was dropped for a bit and the game moved on. Eventually Bella and Emmett came back to the fire and Mike took his turn. "Never ever have I ever, looked at something almost every day of my life without seeing its beauty, until the one day that I did."

It was an obvious attempt at putting a smile on Jessica's face, since she hadn't stopped glaring at me and Bella ever since Bella said the kiss happened a long time ago. Mike's efforts paid off when Jessica beamed and leaned into him for a kiss. My eyes fell on Bella and I drank without even thinking about it.

Garrett made a gagging noise followed by an _'oof'_ sound that told me Kate had elbowed him. I wiped my mouth on the side of my hand and as I did I caught the eye of Garrett, Emmett, Kate, and Alice all at once. Hell, maybe even Jasper was watching me. I mentally groaned and pinched my lips together and watched Mike and Jessica who were now making out.

I took the opportunity to deflect the best that I could, "Get a room!"

It worked well enough and everyone laughed, but a few minutes later Mike and Jess discreetly got up and left, followed not long after by Jasper and Alice. One by one everyone drifted off to their separate corners.

I used a nearby bucket to douse the fire and cleaned up some empty bottles. After a quick pit stop in the bathroom to wash up, I was putting sheets on my sofa bed when movement overhead caught my attention and I looked up to see Bella moving along the balcony from the bathroom to her bedroom.

"Hey!" I whispered.

She stopped and looked down at me, her hair making a curtain around her face. She smiled happily. "Hey."

"You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"Just checking. Just so you know, I didn't tell them anything."

"I know. Lauren and Alice already cornered me. I expect Rosalie will try and get it out of me tomorrow, but I won't tell her, don't worry."

"Why would I worry?"

"Well, you know… what happened. I didn't know if you'd want everyone to know."

I frowned. "Bella, I've never regretted kissing you."

She looked surprised. "Oh." Then she frowned. "But that day–"

But the bedroom door opened then and Lauren joined us in the hallway. "Hey guys! Bella are you done in there?"

She nodded. "Yep, it's all yours. Good night Edward."

I smiled and gave a little wave. "Night."

I watched her turn and walk into her room. I was getting really tired of sleeping with walls between us.

**A/N**

**Okay, we know some of you were getting antsy about them not talking. Did this satisfy you, even just a little? Yes? No? If not, allow us to tease a little, because Chapter 11 is done. We're working on final edits early this week, and hope to have it to Maylin and AzureEyed1 ASAP. The first draft is over 18k words. Wowzers. You'll like it… we promise.**

**A Chapter 11 teaser has been submitted to The Fictionators Blog, and we will do our very best to pick a completely different teaser from Chapter 11 for review replies. While you're reviewing, let's play a little…"never, ever, have I ever… ?" Tell us!**

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**S32 & TG**

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	11. Chapter 11

**A/N**

**Love and thanks to Aruni, who offers her wisdom, and our Red Pen Goddesses Maylin and AzureEyed1. And also for the love, laughter and support from the BBs in UUville.**

**Songs for Chapter 1****1:**

"**Blame It On The Changes" –Dashboard Confessional**

**See you at the bottom!**

**Rated M for language and possible future, well, you know. If you're not old enough to buy mature rated materials, you shouldn't be reading this (and your parents should install Net Nanny.)**

**Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight, **_**obviously.**_

* * *

**Bella**

"_Well, you know__, you said it was a mistake. I know you were kind of drunk that night. I didn't think you'd want everyone to know." _

_I frowned. "Bella, I'__ve never regretted kissing you." _

_She looked surprised. "Oh." Then she frowned. "But that day–" _

_But the bedroom door opened then and Lauren joined us in the hallway. "Hey guys! Bella are you done in there?" _

_She nodded. "Yep, it's all yours. Good night Edward." _

_I smiled and gave a little wave. "Night."_

I crawled into bed and curled up on my side facing away from Lauren. My head was spinning and I really didn't feel like chatting with her right now.

Eventually I heard her sneak back into the room and quietly put away her toiletry bag. I feigned sleep and never moved. Thankfully she simply clicked off the light and the rustle of fabric told me she was climbing under the covers.

I knew the minute Lauren fell asleep because that's when she started snoring. I wondered why she hadn't spent the money to repair that deviated septum in favor of her _enhancements_. I felt stupid even thinking about it; I knew why, and immediately felt sorry for her lack of self esteem. She may have all the courage in the world, able to approach Edward in ways I've only dreamed about, but at what cost?

I tossed and turned in my own bed, my mind playing through the day's events. I kept thinking about the intensity in Edward's eyes when he told me that he'd never regretted that kiss. That one statement went against everything I'd known and believed about us for the last ten years.

That kiss was a long time ago; a decade had passed, but I could still remember almost every detail of that night. I didn't often allow myself to think about that kiss because it had been so perfect, everything I'd ever wanted, for a moment. But of course, this was Edward, and nothing was ever simple with him, so my perfect moment was very brief and if the kiss had been spectacularly wonderful, it ended just as spectacularly awful when he'd opened his mouth and insulted me.

In the following days he'd apologized and told me he regretted it. The fact that he'd wanted to take that perfect moment back, had hurt so much. It was just too painful to think about how amazing it had been in the first place.

--

**Bella - Charlie's House 1998**

_It was Sunday afternoon and it was raining hard. Charlie __had been called into work because of an accident on the highway caused by a mudslide._

_The house was dark from the storm clouds and I was curled up under a blanket and watching a movie when the __doorbell rang. I jogged to the door wondering who would be out in this weather on a Sunday afternoon. _

_I peeked out the window and gasped when I saw a drenched looking Edward on my front porch. After a deep breath I opened the door._

"_Hey. Wow Edward, you're soaked. You want to come in and dry off?" I glanced past him, looking for his car, but it wasn't there._

_He turned to look at the empty driveway as well, showing off the nasty purple and red bruise on the outside corner of his eye and cheekbone. I cringed and sucked a little air through my teeth. He ran his hand quickly over the top of his head and shook some of the water out. "No thanks, I'm okay, I got caught on my run, and I still have to get home."_

_I smirked. "You got caught in the rain? Do you not know where we live?"_

_He__ gave me a lopsided grin. "Yeah, I know. I'm grounded and my folks took my car away for a couple of weeks. They busted me when I got home the other night and they smelled the beer. So, I'm out for a run if anyone asks, but I really just needed to talk to you."_

"_Okay." I didn't know what else to say. _

_He looked at the ground and shuffled his feet. "So listen, I shouldn't have done… what I did the other night. It was stupid and, well, I'm really sorry."_

_I bit down on my bottom lip and stared at his shoes. This was so awkward. __"It's okay Edward. I knew you were drunk when you stumbled and I… well I could tell. I know you didn't mean it. It's not my first rodeo with Edward Cullen- party animal, remember."_

_He rested his hand on the doorframe and flicked at some loose paint with his index finge__r while the corner of his mouth pulled up in a half smile. "Yeah, I think I'll lay off that particular recreational activity for a while. Clearly, I have no judgment. I mean, it's you, and you're not some random girl. My family would kill me if they ever found out what I did."_

_I twisted the knob that was still in my hand. "Well, don't worry, I haven't told anyone." _

_He exhaled a relieved breath. "Bella, you know I'd never, you know..." _

_He waved a hand between our lower abdomen areas to emphasize his meaning._

_My eyes widened when I realized what he was trying to say. "Right. I know. I'm practically your sister. I know you could never do that with me."_

_He brought a hand up to his bruise and touched it gently while he smirked at me. "Well I certainly won't any time soon, now that I'm aware of the consequences."_

_I flexed my own hand and flinched a little too._

_I laughed. "What'd you tell your family about that?" _

_He tipped his head to the side. "Well I kind of wanted to ask you the same thing. Em knows that I was with you in the woods. He's drawn his own conclusions, but I didn't give him any details." _

_I arched an eyebrow. "What did he assume?"_

_His face twisted up, clearly not agreeing with Emmett's assumption. "That you wiped out somehow and took me down with you." _

_I rolled my eyes; of course Emmett would assume that. "Just go with it. Tell him you ran off Tyler because of what he was saying and then use the accident-prone Bella excuse." _

_He frowned and tapped the toe of his running shoe on the doorframe. "Nah, I don't want to put all this on you."_

_"You have to admit it's more plausible than the truth. No one would ever believe that you actually tried... that… with me. I mean, seriously." _

_His jaw clenched. "Yeah. I guess you're right. So, no hard feelings?" _

_"None. I've chalked it all up to too much alcohol and stupid locker room talk."_

--

After not nearly enough sleep I was awakened by more of Lauren's snoring. I threw on some sweats and headed downstairs for some coffee and found Kate and Alice already up and chatting. The three of us moved around the kitchen getting breakfast together for everyone before most of us headed out for a hike. Kate was once again making her sausage gravy and biscuits, while I worked to scramble eggs.

Alice sat on a stool at the counter slicing cantaloupe and honeydew melons, then arranging them on a platter, but she was fidgeting; her knee bounced and she kept glancing at me from the corner of her eye.

I couldn't take it anymore and sighed loudly. "Okay Alice, spill. You're acting weird."

Alice smiled widely "I was just thinking about that new piece of information from last night."

I arched an eyebrow at her in question. I was pretty sure what she was referring to, but wasn't going to volunteer it.

She rolled her eyes. "You. Edward. Kissing."

I groaned, annoyed that it ever came up in the first place. I looked at Kate who just smiled at me. "I'm with Alice, I want to know too."

I squinted at her, "You did that on purpose didn't you? _Never ever have I kissed a Cullen_."

"Busted." Kate laughed as she stirred the gravy.

"So you aren't going to tell?" Alice whined. "Not even a hint about when it happened? Because I keep thinking about Jessica. The three of us were almost as tight as Ed, Em, and Garrett, and then all of a sudden, at the end of our Junior year she didn't want to hang out with us. I know it bugged you too, and I never knew why. But now this thing with the kiss comes out and I have to wonder if that's why she…."

"Alice I never knew what happened between me and Jessica. Friends drift apart you know. Not us, but you know, it happens."

"No, there was more to it than just drifting apart Bella. We were all friends and then she was just being nasty towards you and rolling her eyes behind your back. Don't get me wrong, she never did anything blatantly mean or I would have been all over her, but she was harboring some serious ill-feelings. I never thought it had anything to do with Edward, because she was fine when they broke up. But now I'm wondering if maybe it did."

"Wondering why?"

"Welllll… when did you kiss him? Was it when they were together and she didn't find out until after the fact?"

My jaw fell open. "Alice I'm offended you would even ask me that. First of all, you know I would never do that to a friend, second, it was long after they had broken up, but most of all, it didn't mean anything. I mean, yes he kissed me, but it was nothing more than some kind of misguided alcohol-fueled mistake. And he was mortified afterwards. I mean, seriously, this is Edward we're talking about."

She frowned at me. "What does that mean? _'This is Edward we're talking about'_?"

I smirked and my eyebrows pulled together in our form of non-verbal communication that meant 'duh'.

But she challenged me with her eyes as she sipped her coffee, so I was forced to articulate what I was trying to communicate non-verbally.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "I mean, that he never looked at me that way. He always saw me like he does you Alice; like a sister."

Alice's eyes bulged and she choked on her coffee. She started coughing and pounding on her chest. Between coughs she managed to choke out "You can't be serious!"

That was a rather extreme reaction and I watched her with curiosity. "Uh, yeah, I am. He said so himself."

Alice snorted. "He is such a liar. Listen Bella, I know for a fact that he absolutely _has not ever_ thought of you as his sister."

I rested my hands on the counter. "Alice, I've known your family for how many years? And aside from a passing moment of drunken idiocy he has never, and I mean never, shown any indication to the contrary."

She giggled. "Maybe not that you've seen, but I have… first hand, I might add." She visibly shuddered.

Kate stepped up next to me and Alice paused for dramatic effect and then leaned forward onto the counter. "Okay, when we were in Hawaii, there was this one afternoon after the jellyfish thing that we were laying out by the pool..."

Unfortunately, at that second Edward flew around the corner and slid right into Alice's stool. She would have been knocked off, except that he wrapped one arm around her shoulder and gave her a strong squeeze.

"Good morning Bella, Kate, _Alice." _He smiled at me and Kate and then turned a much darker expression on Alice. When he said her name it had a hard edge to it.

"How are we this fine morning?" His hair was still wet from the shower and his words were pleasant, but his tone and the look in his eyes were laced with anger as he glared at Alice.

She pursed her lips and looked at him, but his expression crumbled her and she looked back down at the cantaloupe in submission. "Morning Edward."

He let her go and walked around the island towards the coffee maker. "So what's new?" His tone was suddenly light, but he was still staring angrily at Alice.

I glanced at Kate and she arched her eyebrows and smiled before we all went back to work and pretended that whatever had just happened hadn't actually happened.

**Edward **

It took most of breakfast to shake off the blind fury that I was feeling towards Alice. Right before we all sat down to eat I dragged her into the master bedroom and chewed her out for nearly humiliating me like that.

In her defense, she was only trying to make Bella understand that I was capable of seeing her in a romantic way, which I appreciated, but not at that cost. When she dissolved into tears I finally relented, and after she promised to never, under any circumstances tell that story, I let her leave.

But she still wouldn't look at me through most of breakfast and when it was over she quickly disappeared back to her own cottage.

I helped Jessica, Mike and Lauren clean up the breakfast dishes while some of the others changed into their gear. Several of us were going on a group hiking trip, although Alice had hastily backed out after our conversation this morning, Lauren had opted for sunbathing, and Tyler was still sleeping off his hangover. Throughout breakfast I struggled to stay focused on the conversations around me. It had been pretty late before I'd finally been able to get some sleep and it wasn't much more than a few short hours.

Bella had been up for quite a while too, as she snuck from her room twice during the night, once to use the bathroom and once to get a bottle of water from the fridge. I didn't let her know that I was awake though, because I really didn't know what I wanted to say to her yet. This morning she seemed just as distracted and confused as I felt.

I finished drying the last few pots and pans and was putting them away. Jessica was wiping and re-wiping the countertops and table and Mike was growing restless.

"Jess, come on, they're clean already. We need to go change if we're going to be ready."

She glanced in my direction and then nodded and muttered. "Okay, okay, I'm coming already."

I figured she had plenty of questions for me about the Bella situation; it had always been a hot button issue for Jessica when we were dating, but I didn't want to get into it in front of Mike.

I was folding towels and turned to her. "Yeah, I think we're going to leave around ten-thirty, so you better hustle." I hoped she'd stop stressing if she knew I was going also. It would give us a chance to clear the air, and I did owe her an apology.

--

**_Edward - __Senior party 1998_**

_Bella threw her head back and laughed at something one of the other girls said. God, she was stunning. Her hair was down and she __wore a white shirt with just a tiny bit of lace at the top. The lace dipped down where the shirt fell over her cleavage, and I wanted to lean over her shoulder so I could peek down the front of it. _

_She wasn't like most the girls who spent hours planning the perfect scarf to go with the perfect shoes and layered on the makeup. She was simple and casual and real. She probably grabbed the first thing she came __across in her closet, which was thankfully that tiny little jean skirt that damn near killed me every time she wore it because it showed off those legs; she had amazing legs… runner's legs. Of course she'd thrown on another one of Charlie's huge flannel shirts and tied it at her waist. The shoulder of it slipped and I could see the straps of her tank top, which made me think of her in nothing but underwear and that little white tank top. _

_It always did __me in when she wore Charlie's shirts too. It should probably be gross that wearing her Dad's shirts could have the effect on me that it did, but I couldn't help it if those huge men's shirts made me imagine her naked in nothing but one of my own button downs._

_I drained the rest of my beer and told the guys that I was going to go get a refill. Of course when I turned I found Jessica watching me again and groaned._

_I should probably consider not drinking tonight. I'd screwed up royally the weekend before by hooking up with Jess again. I was at Newton's party, and in a foul mood. Bella had been at our house so that Alice could help her get ready for a date with Tyler Crowley. _

_So I'd decided to try and drown my problems in Newton's trashcan punch. I only had two cups of it, but holy shit that stuff was strong. And that's when Jessica had found me. We were making out before I realized what was happening and when I did, I'd tried to stop it, but she'd said all the right things, and my addled brain quickly rationalized that it wouldn't matter if we just hooked up one last time. _

_Jessica of course thought it meant that we'd gotten back together again. I tried to keep her at arm's length, because honestly, it wasn't her fault that I was an asshole._

_At lunch on Friday she'd approached me and we'd walked outside. "Edward, can we talk?"_

"_I don't think there's anything to talk about Jessica."_

"_Then what was that last weekend?"_

"_Look, Jess, I'm going to say this as nicely as I can, but that was a mistake. It should never have happened."_

_She froze, and I could see the hurt in her eyes before they filled with tears._

"_I'm sorry. I really am. I need to get going." I knew it wasn't painless, but at least I was honest with her._

_Unfortunately, everything got messed up again that afternoon after practice. Crowley had been running his mouth in the locker room about him and Bella. I was trying really hard not to listen to it, but when he started telling them that he thought they'd sleep together this weekend I lost it. I threw him against the lockers and told him he should show some respect for a girl like Bella; that she deserved better than a dude who was going to talk smack about her in the locker room._

_Emmett broke it up before it got out of hand and we both ended up suspended for a game. He shoved me out the door of the locker room and told me to go cool off. _

_Unfortunately Jessica had been standing outside waiting to talk to me again and overheard the whole thing. I never even knew she was standing there until she spoke from behind me. "So that's it? Bella Swan?"_

_I spun around to see Jessica standing there. Her face was flushed and her eyes were blazing. _

_I squinted at her. "What about Bella?"_

_She shook her head. "I know you think I'm stupid Edward, but I'm not. I'm not oblivious either, and now that I heard that it's all very clear to me."_

_She turned and walked away and I breathed a sigh of relief that it was finally done with. It wasn't nice, and I didn't spare her feelings like I'd hoped but it was done._

_So here I was walking back to the guys with a fresh beer in my hand when she tried to intercept me again with the puppy dog eyes under too much eyeliner and thick mascara. I dodged her and went back to where Emmett, Newton, and Yorkie were standing near the bonfire. From this vantage point I could watch Bella where she was talking with my sister and some of their other friends. _

_She glanced over at Jessica, but Jess shot her a dirty look. I watched Bella's reaction and she was clearly hurt and confused. That shit wasn't right. It wasn't Bella's fault that Jessica got hurt. _

_I walked over to Jessica. "Why do you keep looking at Bella like that? She didn't do anything to you Jess."_

_She turned to me and snarled. "Seriously? Seriously Edward? You're going to talk to me about being nice to Bella?"_

_She was starting to yell, and a couple of people looked in our direction so I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the woods. _

_When we were out of earshot from everyone I dropped her hand and faced her. "Jessica you need to stop this. All you heard today was me telling Crowley that he should be more respectful. That's it. And none of it has anything to do with you. So stop being such a bitch."_

"_Christ Edward, six days ago you were fucking me. I thought we were getting back together and now I -"_

"_Whoa. Jessica, I never said that we were getting back together. Hell I even remember suggesting that we should stop. You're the one who said 'one last time'."_

_She nodded and her eyes began to tear up. "I know I did. But that's when I thought you were with me because a part of you missed me. Now I hear all that shit today in the locker room and I just realized that Bella was out on a date with Tyler that night."_

"_So?"_

"_Edward I've seen you watch her. I saw it all the time when we would go over to your house and she was there with Alice. You always made a point of talking to her, or teasing her."_

"_I'll say again, Jessica, so what?"_

_She was crying now. "So I just realized that you were just using me to forget about her, weren't you?"_

_I barked out a harsh laugh. I wanted to pretend that she was so far from the truth, but I couldn't. She might not be the smartest chip on the block, but she sure was observant. _

"_Jessica, listen, it doesn't matter why we did what we did. It shouldn't have happened. I didn't mean to make you think we were getting back together, because we aren't. We're done."_

_I held up my hands in front of me and leaned against a tree. "I'm sorry, but that's that."_

"_Fine." She started walking back towards the cars. _

_I stood there in the shadows for a few minutes and tried to collect my thoughts. I felt like shit for Jessica but she was right. I had used her to try and get Bella out of my head. Eventually I started walking back towards the bonfire. If nothing else, at least Emmett had agreed to drive tonight. Since Jessica appeared to be leaving I might as well try and have some fun._

_But all thoughts of the party disappeared when I stepped to the edge of the trees just in time to catch a glimpse of Tyler and Bella walking down the path that __led into the deeper parts of the woods. They were holding hands and I knew, from his locker room ramblings what he was hoping for._

_I stood there for a few minutes raging against the need to chase them down and my own ego. I could look like a real idiot if I tried to drag her back home right now. And I knew Bella well enough to know that she'd be furious with me._

_I thumped the side of my fist on the tree trunk a couple of times and kept__ remembering him going on and on in the locker room. She wouldn't do something like that here, would she?_

_Did it matter? They weren't going back there to play pinochle for Christ's sake._

_I had a flash of Tyler pressing her against a tree and pushing himself on her__, and thought I was going to be physically sick. Without even thinking about it I took off running._

--

Jasper had been reading through the trail maps. He was an avid hiker, and so were Mike, Bella, Garrett, and Kate, but the rest of us weren't as experienced. Nor did we have the right gear for the rocky ground on the harder trails, so he chose a trail that had a leg where some of them could branch off and take the harder parts including some climbing terrain.

It was not long after this break on the trail that I dropped back and so did Jessica.

I decided to start in first and make it easy on her. "So, Jess, I get the feeling that you and I should talk about what came up at the fire last night."

She glanced over her shoulder and slowed her pace. "You don't mind? It was a long time ago."

I nodded. "It was. And I should have apologized a lot sooner than this."

She arched an eyebrow at me. "So this thing between you and Bella, did it happen while we were dating?"

I shook my head. "Not when we were actually dating. She never would have done that to you. And it wasn't her fault when it did happen, believe me. But, you weren't wrong about everything Jess."

"So did you like her the whole time that we were going out?"

I frowned and nodded. "I probably wouldn't have admitted it at the time, but I did. I was a real dick to you."

Jessica sighed and shrugged. "It's okay. I got over it a long time ago. You and I never would have worked in the long run. I just felt like I was bordering on schizophrenic the way I was so sure about it, but you kept insisting that it was my imagination. I'm just glad to know that I wasn't stupid or crazy."

"Neither Jessica.. You're a great girl; Mike's a lucky guy. I never should have treated you like that."

She frowned and kicked a rock on the ground. "You know Edward, it's not all your fault, it's partly my own."

I squinted at her. "What do you mean?"

"Remember the summer we started dating and we all went to the beach on that Fourth of July?"

I nodded, it had been a fun day. Bella and I were getting along, even flirting a little bit. I was considering actively pursuing her.

Jessica kept her eyes on the trail as she started talking. "Before the fireworks started, you and I were building the fire and we started talking. Bella's name came up. I had a feeling you were thinking about asking her out, but I didn't ask you about it."

I felt my stomach start to knot up when I realized where she was going with this. "No, I remember. You made some crack about how Bella might as well change her name to Cullen."

Jessica nodded and swallowed.

I vocalized the memories as they came back to me. "You also volunteered that you'd asked her if she ever thought about dating me and she said that was gross because kissing me or Emmett would be like kissing her own brother."

Jessica nodded again, but wouldn't look at me.

I put a hand on her arm to make her face me. "Are you telling me that none of that was true?"

Her eyes started to water and she glanced at me and back down at the ground and shook her head. "I'm sorry."

I ran a hand through my hair and stared at the trees contemplating whether I even wanted to know the answer to my next question but I decided that I had to ask. "Jessica, are you saying that you never talked to Bella about me, or that you didn't tell me what she really said?"

She sighed. "I didn't have to ask her Edward, and I doubt she would have admitted it because of Alice." Then she whispered the rest. "But I knew that she liked you. I made up what I said that night hoping you would forget about her, but the whole time we dated that was all I thought about. That you would really rather be with her, and you would have been if I hadn't lied to you that night."

I took a deep breath and clasped my fingers behind my neck, staring over her head. I wanted to throttle her I was so angry, but I couldn't because something else was nagging at me. Yeah, this was new information and it might have changed some of the things that I'd done, but it didn't change or explain Bella's reaction that night. If anything I was even more confused.

I groaned. "Well, I guess we can just call it even, right? You did some things, I did some things. Let's just put it behind us."

She nodded and smiled. "Really? You don't hate me?"

I shook my head. I was actually really angry with her, but I didn't hate her. "No."

She grinned. "Good. I hope you and Bella work things out. You deserve to be happy."

**Bella **

The hike was a good time. Jasper picked a good trail for the few of us who wanted to get in some climbing. I was surprised that Edward opted to stick to the trails; he could handle it physically, but as he pointed out, his running shoes really weren't cut out for the terrain we were going to cover. Edward had been really quiet for most of the morning, and on the way back from the ridge he hadn't spoken a word. In fact his mood seemed to resonate off of him; he seemed almost angry.I decided to give him some space and chatted with Garrett, Kate, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper on the way back. Alice had decided to keep Lauren company in the lounge chairs back at the cottage.

As we came through the last stretch through the woods, the skies were darkening in front of us and by the time we emerged from them the rain was already coming down. Everyone started to jog and then, as the rain picked up, so did our pace. Edward pulled up next to me and I decided to push past him a bit. He picked it up and met my stride, as did the rain, so I pushed a little harder. The last hundred meters turned into a full-on sprinting race between the two of us through puddles and driving rain. When we reached the steps onto the deck we both took them two at a time and nearly ran over Alice standing at the top.

Thankfully, she jumped out of the way and turned back as we cleared the top steps. She waved her arms in front of her and shouted. "Safe!"

We were both laughing and Edward folded his arms and laced his fingers behind his neck while I bent over and braced my hands on my knees trying to catch my breath.

He coughed a couple of times and then laughed. "Alright Alice, you call it. Who won?"

I heard her say "Bella, by a nose," but it sounded like it was from a long ways away. That's when I noticed my vision was dark around the edges and I was dizzy. I slid down onto the deck and rested my head against my knees.

Edward squatted in front of me with a worried expression. He put a hand on my shoulder. "Hey. You okay?"

I peeked up at him. "Yeah, I think I just need some protein."

"Okay, well I think Garrett and Jasper are going to make some sandwiches, but how about I go grab you a yogurt or some cheese and crackers first."

Alice was watching me with concern and she shook her head. "No Edward, you stay with her. I'll get it."

Before either of us could voice an opinion she disappeared through the door and returned quickly with the food and a glass of juice.

I began to feel better, the longer I sat, though now I was a bit embarrassed. I thanked Alice and took the food from her. Edward sat down next to me and tried to make idle conversation, but it was obvious that he was watching me carefully.

Alice pulled up a chair and so did Rosalie and Emmett. Within a few minutes, my situation was forgotten and the small group of us were just hanging out talking.

Kate wandered outside a few minutes later. "So I checked the weather. The rain should pass us over by this evening, but it will probably hold steady for at least the next few hours."

There was some grumbling about the football game that we'd planned, but Alice, ever the planner, piped up. "Not a problem, I've planned some games just in case. We could play charades, or Pictionary, and I brought cards."

I glanced at Emmett the same time he caught my eye. He shouted "Euchre tournament!"

Alice and Rosalie both groaned and tried to veto the idea, but Kate and Edward were in favor of it.

Edward spoke up, "How about we vote at lunch."

I nodded. "Good idea. I think I'm going to go take a shower."

Edward jumped up and offered me a hand to help me but he held it just a bit longer than necessary and watched me carefully. I lightly slugged him in the gut.

"I'm fine… really. I just needed to eat something."

"Okay, okay. Sorry, it's the doctor in me."

He stepped aside and let me pass him after a quick squeeze of my hand that made my stomach flip.

I climbed the stairs, feeling pretty steady again and opened the door to the room I shared with Lauren. I was immediately overwhelmed by a mix of hairspray, perfume, and probably some body lotions. I'm sure it was meant to be attractive, but the combination was overwhelming and nauseating. I shook my head quickly to clear my senses and tried to focus on not breathing through my nose. Lauren glanced at me and I smiled, but her eyes narrowed in return. As I was pulling out my clothes and small bag of toiletries, she kept making these irritated huffing noises and exaggerated sighs. I ignored her until just before I turned to leave and she finally spoke.

"So, Edward and I had a little chat yesterday afternoon."

"Oh?" I assumed an innocent tone.

She looked irritated that I wasn't engaging her bitchiness. "You know, I asked you outright what you knew about him so you could have just told me that you two had a thing going instead of letting me make an ass out of myself."

I shrugged one shoulder. "I didn't really know where we stood, and I'm not naturally territorial. So I left it up to him. Besides, if he really wants to be with me I shouldn't have to stake my claim, should I?"

She rolled her eyes dramatically. "So, if I were interested in Tyler, is the same thing going to happen? You two seem pretty chummy. You're not dating him too are you?"

"No, but be careful, he's been through a lot lately. He won't be interested in anything long-"

She sighed dramatically. "Bella, he's a big boy and I know all about his divorce. You know, a little no-strings-attached fun might just do him some good."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head slowly. Did she have no self-respect at all? "Whatever Lauren."

I took my things to the bathroom and started the shower. My conversation with Lauren got me thinking some more about that night again. Prior to this weekend, it was the last time that I had been caught between Edward and Tyler.

_--_

_**Bella - **__**Senior party 1998**_

_I__ watched Edward and Jessica disappear between the trees and into the darkness and then sighed as the familiar ache in my chest started to throb again. _

_A minute later a familiar arm wrapped around my waist and Tyler's slightly strong cologne tickled my nose. __"Hey. There you are… what are you doing?"_

_I shrugged. "Just hanging around."_

_He__ whispered in my ear. "Wanna go for a walk? Find someplace a little more private?"_

_I fought the urge to look in the direction that Edward had just taken Jessica and nodded to Tyler. He took my hand and started weaving me through the bodies. I garnered a few knowing looks from some of my friends, and felt strangely proud to be seen sneaking off into the woods._

_I'd spent so many years waiting for Edward to notice me that I felt empowered to finally be noticed by someone._

_Just before we reached the edge of the woods though, I saw Jessica come stumbling out. She was clearly crying and I stopped, watching her. She scanned the crowd and our eyes met. She looked from me to Tyler and smirked before turning and walking away._

"_Wonder what that's all about?"_

_Tyler scoffed. "Cullen's probably being an asshole. He's hitting it pretty hard tonight and I don't think they're getting along that well."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yeah, they got into a pretty heated argument yesterday after practice. She wants to get back together, but he doesn't."_

"_Hmm."_

_We walked in silence for a little while, and just before he started pulling me into the woods we heard footsteps on the path behind us. I turned around to see Edward running up towards us.  
_

_"Hey Cullen. If you're looking for Jessica I saw her heading back towards the road."_

_"What? Oh. No, I'm not. I need to talk to Bella."_

_I didn't let go of Tyler's hand. "Is Jessica okay? She looked upset."_

_Edward ran a hand through his hair. "Um. Probably not, I don't know. Can I talk to you for a sec?"_

_I shook my head. "Edward I don't want to get involved. She's been really pissy with me lately and I don't even know why. So I don't think I should-"_

_"It's not about Jessica. Crowley, can you give us a few minutes please?"_

_Tyler glanced at me, and then Edward. "Maybe later. We're going-"_

_Edward took a step closer to Tyler. "No. Not later. I need to talk to Bella now. She'll meet you back at the bonfire."_

_Tyler glanced at me. I rolled my eyes because Edward had been ignoring me ever since prom and now, now, he just has to talk to me?_

_"Fine. Tyler, I'll find you in a few."_

_He nodded and walked back up the path._

_Edward grabbed my hand and pulled me behind him deeper into the woods.  
_

_When he turned to face me, the woods were thick so we had to stand close together._

_"What are you doing with him?"_

_"With Tyler?"_

_"Yeah. You know what kind of a player he is, don't you?"_

_"I've heard the rumors. But it's really none of your business."_

_"Isn't it? Bella I'm not going to sit by and watch you do something stupid like that."_

_"Like what? Edward you've hardly talked to me once since prom. Now you want to jump in and go all big brother on me?"_

_"Big brother? Trust me, Bella, I don't think of you as my little sister."_

_"Then why do you treat me like one?"_

_Edward turned around so that I was staring at his back. He reached up and started pulling on his hair with both hands. I could see his shoulders moving as he took big, deep breaths in frustration._

_"You know what Edward, I'm a big girl now. I don't need you taking care of me."_

_I turned to leave but before I could take my second step he grabbed me._

_The next thing I knew he'd backed me into a tree and his green eyes were inches from mine and glowing in intensity._

_"I am not your big brother Bella._

_--_

I had been so lost in my own thoughts and memories, that I'd finished my shower on auto-pilot and the water was starting to run cold. I shut it off and climbed out.

After drying off and dressing I stepped out of the bathroom. Everyone had begun filling their plates with food and sitting down at the table. My stomach growled and I quickly deposited my toiletries in the bedroom and made my way downstairs to join the others.

Over lunch it was decided that we would, indeed, have a euchre tournament. Names were written down on paper and drawn at random from a bag to decide teams. Emmett, of course volunteered to do the drawing. He picked Edward and Jasper, then Lauren and Mike, Garrett and Jessica, Tyler and Alice, Rosalie and Kate, and that left, of course… me and Emmett.

He hissed a quiet "Yes" and we high-fived.

Immediately Rosalie and Jasper groaned in disapproval, and Alice started yelling. "No way! You guys cheat!"

Emmett shouted back. "That's never been proven!"

Alice propped her hands on her hips and squinted at him. "Oh but it's so convenient that whenever you guys are teamed up you always win!"

Emmett raised his hands in front of him and smirked. "It's the skillz baby, just the skillz."

Edward held up two hands to quiet them both. "Tell you what Alice, let's just make a rule that anyone caught cheating automatically loses that game. Deal?"

He looked to Alice and she nodded, as did Emmett and I. We'd never been caught.

Once that was settled, we established three playing areas and the teams faced off.

We immediately knocked out Mike and Lauren with ease. Signals weren't even necessary as she didn't really have an understanding of the game and kept reneging. Poor Mike was frustrated because she had insisted that she knew what she was doing.

Edward and Jasper beat Tyler and Alice, while Kate and Rosalie gave Garrett and Jessica a sound thumping.

The teams re-shuffled and we played Kate and Rosalie next. It was a much closer game and Rosalie was trying to keep a close eye on us, but Emmett knew which of her buttons to push and could easily distract her. It was the last hand when he started asking her questions about the wedding and distracted her long enough for me to casually shift my ring from my index finger to my ring finger, telling Emmett that diamonds would be good. Then I held my cards between my index finger and thumb, showing him three loose fingers, the number of trump I was holding. Finally, I scratched my left earlobe telling him which Bauer I was holding.

In the last game we were playing Edward and Jasper. Edward quickly pulled Jasper aside and they began talking low in the corner. As Edward continued to whisper, Jasper nodded along. Throughout the game Emmett kept trying to chat them up, but they were unflappable. If Edward was watching me, Jasper was watching Emmett, leaving very little room for signals. It was seven to five when I caught a look from Emmett telling me to distract. I started fanning my face and sighed.

Edward glanced at me quickly. "You okay?"

I frowned and nodded. "Just a little dizzy again."

I set my cards face down and leaned forward onto my hands for dramatic effect, but kept my eyes on Emmett. Edward leaned over and put his hand on my forehead as Emmett scratched his chest quickly with his thumb, holding out four fingers in front of him. Then he cocked his head first to the left and then to the right like he was trying to crack his neck.

Edward tucked my hair behind my ear and leaned towards me to speak in my ear. "Would you like me to get you a glass of water so you can focus on his signals or should we just declare our victory right now and you can go lay down?"

I locked eyes with Edward. "What?"

He smirked at Emmett and then back at me. "You were about to call hearts. If so, Emmett would have been holding four trump, including the right and left Bauers. Emmett, show us your hand. If I'm wrong, you guys win."

Emmett's jaw fell open for a second and then his face scrunched up and he threw his cards on the table with a loud, "Fuck!"

Edward started laughing. "Bella, I suppose Emmett never told you where he learned those signals, did he?"

I groaned and rolled my eyes. "Christ Emmett! Edward taught you? Why would you even try that then?"

Jasper started laughing and he and Edward knocked knuckles as some cheering rose from the other tables when they realized we'd been busted.

Emmett started laughing. "Shit! I forgot Bells. Edward didn't teach me, but we both learned from that dude – what was his name Edward?"

Edward was laughing and stacking the cards. "Matt."

The rest of the games broke up and it was decided that we needed to split into groups of men and women for some girl time. As Alice, Lauren and Jessica were plotting pedicures and facials the guys were setting up a poker game. I would have preferred to stay for the poker game, but went along with the rest of the girls.

**Edward**

I watched Bella head out the door and helped the rest of the guys set up the poker game. I was again distracted and kept finding myself staring into space thinking about how Bella smelled when I leaned in close enough to whisper in her ear. When she turned those brown eyes on me I had to fight the urge to lean in and kiss her right then.

My thoughts were suddenly brought back to reality by a peanut bouncing off my forehead. My eyes snapped to Garrett who was the offending thrower of said peanut and I rubbed my forehead. "What the fuck?"

He laughed and tossed another one in his mouth. "Welcome back dude, are you going to ante or what?"

In the center of the table before me was the small pile where everyone else had already thrown in their ante.

"Alright dick." I picked up a chip with one hand and tossed it into the center of the table while I gathered my cards with the other.

Emmett snorted. "Anything you want to share with the rest of us?"

I glanced at Mike and Tyler pointedly. "Nope."

Emmett and Garrett nodded their understanding and I silently thanked them for not pushing the situation. I was glad for the mental reprieve from all the thinking I'd been doing since last night. My cards were crap and I tossed them down and scrubbed my face with my hands before I stood up.

"I'm going to grab a Coke. Anyone want anything?"

Tyler glanced up. "Yeah, I'll have one too, but grab the rum on your way back too."

Mike agreed. "Yeah, me too. In fact, if this is going to be the only chance for some actual bachelor time, then I think we should do some shots."

I shook my head as I went after the Cokes, and Mike grabbed a couple of liquor bottles.

A couple of hours later Mike and Tyler were both drunk enough that they were useless for poker and were getting too wound up for indoor activities. The rain had stopped and Mike thought we should go into town and find a bar. I reminded him that our only forms of transportation were either to walk or take the two bikes.

Apparently they took that as a challenge and the two drunken idiots ran out the door. Garrett, Emmett, Jasper and I followed them out onto the deck and watched them climb onto the bikes and start down the driveway. When Mike fell before he actually managed to get the bike moving we all busted up laughing. But he didn't give up easily and climbed back on. After one more wipeout they made the turn onto the road and we lost sight of them.

We were all still laughing as we filed back into the cottage. Emmett chuckled. "Jessica's going to be pissed."

I laughed harder and nodded. "Yeah she is. Glad that's not my problem."

In the living room the video had moved on to Rosalie's high school days and we decided to settle in and watch it for a bit.

We laughed at Rosalie's big hair, knowing she'd bruise us if she was listening. Jasper changed DVD's and we were immediately treated to some footage of our senior year. We watched highlights from a football game and laughed at Emmett's pathetic attempt at growing his hair out.

After some videos from Christmas was the New Year's Eve party during which Garrett snickered loudly at the unfortunate green silk shirt I'd let Alice talk me into. Then the picture flipped back on and there was some wiggling and shaking of the camera and then it shifted and focused on Emmett standing before the mirror at the bottom of the stairs, trying to tie a bowtie.

The camera kept shaking, bouncing, and jiggling, while it went in and out of focus. It made it difficult to focus on Emmett as he kept twisting it and pulling it trying to get it to stay straight before giving up and dropping his arms to his sides in exasperation. "Mom, I've tried a hundred times and it won't go straight. I don't know why you wouldn't let me get a clip on."

Esme could be heard from behind the camera. "Because they're tacky and you should know how to tie a bowtie by now Emmett. Edward does and your father's shown you more times than him. Here, honey, take the camera while I help Emmett. They'll be down soon."

Garrett looked at me with wide hopeful eyes. "Is this prom?"

The camera shook and jiggled some more as it was handed over before righting itself again;it was much steadier than when Esme had been holding it. The camera zoomed in on Esme as she expertly tied Emmett's tie, then gently patted him on the cheek with a smile. He turned back to the mirror and smoothed down his lapels before buttoning and unbuttoning the jacket.

I chuckled. "Now we know why Carlisle always held the video camera. I was going to get nauseous if Esme held it much longer."

Emmett nodded. "Yeah, I remember I had to hold my breath the whole time she was tying my tie so she wouldn't smell the alcohol. I think we only got away with it because she'd already had a glass or two of wine."

Esme's voice from outside the frame could be heard prompting Carlisle. "Here come the girls. Get the girls!"

The camera quickly panned to the top of the stairs as first Alice, then Bella were just beginning their descent. Esme could be heard chirping about how lovely they looked followed by Emmett's low whistle. The camera focused in first on Alice as she grinned at the whistle, then Bella several steps behind as she blushed.

The girls reached Emmett at the bottom of the stairs and the camera followed Esme as she spun Alice and tugged at the back of her skirt, checking for anything out of place. She then turned to Bella and repeated the motions.

We heard a quiet sigh from behind the camera.

Esme looked them each over once and then told them to wait while she ran to get the other camera.

In the video Alice and Emmett were on the periphery whisper-arguing over something that Emmett kept fiddling with in his breast pocket. Alice was wagging a finger in his face. Bella, who was standing next to them with her back turned, applied lipstick in the mirror.

Emmett started chuckling. "Alice was so pissed that I snuck out that flask."

Esme could be heard in the distant background. "Hang on kids, it must be in the office. I'll just be another minute."

Garrett never took his eyes of the TV as he asked. "Edward, where are you?"

I had just been wondering the same thing, so I shrugged. "I must have still been upstairs."

We all watched the video in silence for a few moments. It didn't take long to notice that while Alice and Emmett were there, they mostly flitted in and out of the screen while the camera stayed focused primarily on Bella.

Bella opened her purse and checked its contents.

Bella fiddled with her bracelet.

"Dude, did Dad not give a shit at all about his own kids, or what? I mean, I know he liked Baby Bel, but damn, we are _in the room,_ but you'd hardly even know it."

Bella bent over to adjust the strap on the heel of her shoe. The camera actually zoomed in at this point, focusing on her legs and the curve of her behind.

Garrett's head tilted to the side.

Jasper started watching the ceiling.

The awkwardness in the room was palpable.

Emmett cleared his throat next to me. "Umm…does anyone else think this is getting a little pervy?"

There was another quiet sigh from behind the camera and the whispered words. "She's going to be the death of me."

Emmett started to make a choking sound and Garrett jumped up from the couch. "Holy shit! That's the line…"

He was pointing at the TV, but his head kept twisting back and forth between me and the television, his eyes as big as saucers.

The camera finally zoomed back out again as Esme could be heard in the distant background but moving closer. "Here it is, I found it. It was on Carlisle's desk. He changed the film for me before leaving for the hospital."

The camera finished zooming back out to wide frame so that everyone was visible.

Esme's voice was now very close to the camera. "Edward, dear give me the camera and go line up with everyone so that we can take pictures."

The camera shook and wiggled as it was handed over then refocused as we all watched me move out from behind it, walk across the room and stand next to Bella.

It was at this point that Garrett started laughing maniacally and jumping up and down.

He was gasping for breath and pointing at the screen. "That's the line… the line from the book… from the wedding. Fuck… remember? Something about her bosom… Hang on. I'll be right back."

He took off running out the door to the smallest cottage. Thankfully the girls were in the other one and wouldn't see him running around like a mad man with that damn book.

Emmett and Jasper both watched him run out the door and turned to look at me. Jasper silently shook with laughter as Emmett looked mildly stunned as his mouth opened and closed a few times.

"Dude, I didn't know you…. Why didn't you ever…? I mean… you never said a word… did she know? Well obviously she knew… you kissed her at some point apparently. She wasn't interested? Well, but the book… obviously she was… what the fuck?"

I just sat there shaking my head and gestured towards the television where it was now paused. "Honestly Emmett, I don't remember any of that shit."

"Well, okay, I get that, we'd already been hitting it pretty hard, but I'm guessing that you probably remember _why_ you said that?"

I sighed. "Yeah, I kind of had a little thing for her back then. It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal? Dude, she was at our house every single day for, like, _ever_, and you had a thing for her and never did a damn thing about it? Worse than that, you were actually kind of a dick to her. You do know that, right?"

I cringed and pulled on my beer, wiping my mouth on my hand. "Yeah, I don't know. Defense mechanism maybe?"

Garrett came running back in the door at that point with the marked up copy of the book. He ran in front of us and stood, clearing his throat for dramatic effect and began reading.

"_I turned from the bar and nearly walked right into Andy Carter. I was stunned to say the least. I hadn't realized that he and Aaron Todd might still be friends even though they weren't teammates anymore.. I stumbled and his hand shot to my waist to steady me. My traitorous body's reaction to him was strong and undeniable._

_Andy took in my appearance with a feral smile, as if I were something to eat. His eyes met mine, and then slowly traveled lower, pausing briefly at my heaving bosom. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed 'You're going to be the death of me yet.'"_

Jasper listened intently and then turned to look at me. "I was there when she was going through the videos. I never heard what you said because she was going through them on fast-forward to catalog them, but I know that this particular one was her own personal copy. Which obviously means that she's had this video all this time, even before writing that book."

Garrett dropped the book on the coffee table and made a 'cha-ching' sound like a cash register.

I threw a hand out at the side in a one armed shrug. "Okay! I give up. I don't know what to say anymore. There are obviously a lot of coincidences that point to a strong correlation between our history and that damn book. But I don't for the life of me understand why. Remember that kiss she mentioned?"

They all nodded. "Okay, well it happened, and when it did she made herself abundantly, and I mean _painfully_ clear that she was not interested in me in that way _at all_."

Garrett squinted at me. "What do you mean by painfully clear? What happened?"

But before he finished asking questions we could hear the girls outside on their way back to the main house. It was close to dinner and everyone would be participating in the stir-fry bar that had been planned.

I stood up and shook my head quickly. "Just drop it okay? Obviously I plan on talking to her about it soon, this shit has been messed up long enough."

Garrett looked like I'd just taken away his favorite toy. "You mean I can't ask her about it even now? It's obviously –"

"No Garrett. Not a word. You two either." I pointed at Jasper and Emmett.

They both nodded so I turned back to Garrett. "I'm serious dude. If you brought it up, she'd be so embarrassed. She and I are doing well. Please let me get into this at my own pace and not in front of everyone. I promise that I will tell you everything as soon as I know anything."

He scowled at me and nodded.

I arched an eyebrow at him.

"I promise E! Fuck! Give me some credit."

I breathed a sigh of relief just as the girls walked in the side door of the house. Bella smiled to me as she walked towards the kitchen, but then her eyes flicked to the television screen behind me which was still paused on the picture of all of us posing for pictures. Instantly her eyes widened in fear and then they flicked back to me, then Garrett, Jasper, Emmett and back to me.

I didn't know what to do so I just shrugged and smiled. "Yeah, so that was interesting."

She bit the corner of her lip. "You had a lot to drink that night. You and Emmett were both a few sheets to the wind on our way to dinner. I doubted you even remembered."

I shook my head. "I didn't. And I've never seen this before. Why didn't you say something?"

"Like what Edward? Your parents gave me a copy sometime that summer, but I never watched it until after you left for Chicago. Was I just supposed to call you up and say 'by the way, when you were really drunk at prom you said some things…'" She shrugged and her face fell.

Then she muttered towards the floor. "The next time I saw you, you were with Tanya."

She walked around the corner and into the kitchen without looking at me.

I was hit with the impact of her words 'with Tanya'. That was Bella's polite way of saying that the next time we saw each other I acted like a dick the entire time and basically called her a whore. I exhaled a hard gust of air, and physically fought against the urge to run into the kitchen, grab her and wrap my arms around her, refusing to let her go until she forgave me for all of my asshole behavior over the last fifteen years. Instead, I stood in the middle of the living room grinding my teeth, pinching the bridge my nose, my eyes squeezed shut as I took a few breaths to get myself under control.

I heard some of the guys moving around me and when I opened my eyes again, the book had disappeared from the coffee table and I caught sight of Garrett's back as he was stepping out the front door, presumably to go put it away again. Emmett had left the room, but Jasper hadn't moved. He had a sympathetic look on his face and caught my eye as I dropped back into the recliner.

He leaned towards me. "Look, I don't know what that meant about you being with Tanya other than I know she hated her, but obviously there's more to it. Edward, you guys have so much history of hot and cold, hesitations and things not said. You can't change the past, but you do have an opportunity to learn from your mistakes."

I nodded and he stood up and left me sitting in the living room by myself. Everyone else was behind me working on starting dinner and I finally stood to join them.

Bella was standing at the island cutting some chicken into pieces, her brow was pulled together like she was worried. I walked up next to her and rested a hand on the small of her back. She glanced up at me and mouthed 'sorry'.

I frowned and whispered. "About what?"

"That they saw it, obviously."

I shook my head. "I don't care."

She blinked a few times and gave me a strange look like she didn't understand anything I'd just said, but then she dropped it and pointed to a bag of nuts and seasonings. "Could you put those things in some bowls?"

I smiled and slid my hand around her side to tickle her waist. She squealed and wiggled her hips. It was meant to be innocent, but I was standing closer than I'd meant and her little wiggle brushed against the front of me. I sucked some air through my teeth as her movements started to cause a reaction, so I dropped my hand to her hip and squeezed it to still her. I lowered my mouth to her ear. "Don't do that. Or at least, please don't do that here and now."

I heard her breath catch and her hands froze over the chicken.

I felt emboldened by her reaction and kissed the top of her head and then leaned back down to her ear and whispered to her. "Bella, don't think I'm angry about any of that. I don't regret what I said on that video and I don't regret kissing you. I do, however, regret a lot of things that I never had the balls to do…before now anyway. Now, I promise you, I will not make the same mistakes. There will be _no_ _mixed signals_."

**B****ella**

My mouth went completely dry, my entire body temperature shot up a couple degrees, and my hands started to shake. He patted my hip one last time and then slid behind me and picked up the bag of nuts and moved over to the counter where the bowls were stored.

Kate had been standing on the other side of the island and I glanced at her. Her lips were pinched tightly together in a straight line that was clearly being held in place by her teeth.

She put down the knife she was using to chop the peppers and onions and started towards the trash with a handful of onion skins. As she moved past me she paused with one arched eyebrow and whispered. "Should I get you a cold washcloth? Your face looks like it's about to burst into flames."

"No. I'm good thanks." I tried to speak clearly but it came out in a choked whisper that made Kate laugh.

"What I wouldn't give to know what he just said to get that kind of reaction. It had to have been good."

Jessica walked in the side door then and called out to everyone. "Hey guys? Anyone know where Mike and Tyler are?"

There were a series of looks exchanged between Edward, Emmett and Jasper and then Emmett answered for the three of them. "They went into town." It came out sounding like a question.

Jessica glanced at the table where the evidence of their poker game was still sitting out. "Did they walk?"

This time the three of them all started snickering and Edward answered her. "No, at least not when they left. They took the bikes."

She squinted at him. "They're drunk?"

He nodded and then looked at the floor like a shamed child.

She smacked her forehead. "Aw fuck! Those two always get into trouble together. You know, I didn't bring bail money, so if they get arrested it's on you assholes since you let them leave."

Then she stormed back out the door as the three amigos broke up into fits of laughter.

Emmett finally choked out. "Told you she'd be pissed."

Edward laughed. "And I told you that it's not my problem."

Rosalie walked by and smacked them both in the back of the head then reached across the island and got Jasper too. "Nobody better get arrested on our weekend."

We finished the prep work and then each of us took turns building a stir-fry. Edward asked me to do one for both of us since he wouldn't know what would be good together.

He made moaning sounds throughout his meal that rivaled the noises he made over Kate's sausage gravy so I was pleased. When we were finished he stood, leaned over and kissed the top of my head. "That was awesome, thank you. You relax and I'll do your share of the cleanup." Then he took both our plates and left me sitting at the table a little unsettled.

The dishes were mostly washed and put away when a shout from the back of the cottage grabbed our attention. Edward was closest and must have seen it first because he started laughing, dropped his towel, and then immediately headed for the door.

I went to the window and watched as he jogged down the driveway towards a very drunk Mike Newton who had just crashed his bike into a tree next to the driveway. Tyler was still on his own bike, but was propped up on one leg, doubled over the handlebars and laughing hysterically.

Eventually Mike was able to stand upright and Edward walked the bike back to the garage along with Tyler. Jessica showed up from somewhere and was chewing Mike out so Edward just pointed back at the cottage and Mike nodded at him.

When Edward came back in Tyler was following him and they were both laughing. I breathed a sigh of relief that the two of them were finally getting along. I arched an eyebrow when they both looked at me. "Is he okay?"

Tyler snorted. "Wasted."

Edward nodded. "He's got quite a few abrasions that need to be cleaned, but I think he'll be okay. How many times did he wipe out anyway?"

Tyler laughed harder. "Probably four or five times on the way to the bar. I lost count on the way back. A Lot. I know he's wasted, but I'm actually questioning whether he's ever been able to ride a bike."

Edward laughed harder as he headed upstairs. He came back down a few minutes later with a first aid kit that he must have packed in his bag. I realized that he'd probably packed it with me in mind.

Kate approached him. "I'll clean him up. Why don't you go help build the fire."

He nodded and looked at me. "Wanna come with me?"

I smiled. "I'll be down soon. I need to change; it's cooling off a little. And Mike and Tyler haven't eaten, so I thought I'd whip up something for them."

His face fell dramatically and I instantly regretted it. He didn't look at me as he nodded and started towards the door. "Okay, well I'll save you a seat. And hurry, I feel like I've hardly seen you today."

That was all I needed. I tossed my towel on the counter. "You know what, you're right. Dumb and Dumber can fend for themselves. Let me change and I'll be right down."

His face lit up again and he grinned. "Okay, see you in a bit."

I hurried upstairs and wrestled into a pair of jeans and grabbed a fleece pullover. As an afterthought I grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and started down to the fire pit.

They had the fire going already and everyone settled into their seats. Jessica and Tyler apparently forced Mike to eat something, but they weren't able to stop him from continuing to drink. Tyler seemed tipsy, but I got the impression he slowed down when they went into town so that he could keep an eye on Mike.

The conversation was easy and relaxed; I was surprised that it was almost two hours before the topic of our kiss came up again. Alice had been sitting quietly, looking very focused when all of a sudden her head snapped up.

"New Years!"

We all went quiet and looked at her. Rosalie snorted and then retorted just as enthusiastically. "No. It's June! Buy a calendar!"

Alice waved a hand at her. "No, no. Is that when you kissed? Was it New Years one year? Like a happy new year midnight thing?"

She'd been peppering me with these questions all day long. We'd already covered Christmas mistletoe, a game of truth or dare, and a variety of other random guesses.

I rolled my eyes at her persistence. "No Alice, can you just drop it please. It's nobody's business. I should have just lied last night."

"Uh no. You can't lie during a game like that Bella, it defeats the whole purpose."

"Alice, I wasn't under oath."

Tyler had been listening quietly from his side of the fire where he was conspicuously tucked under a blanket with Lauren. "What are you guys talking about? What should you have lied about, Bella?"

Lauren answered him. "Oh yeah, I don't think you were out here anymore. It was big news at the bonfire last night. Bella and Edward kissed at some point during their lives but won't say when or where. As if we care."

Tyler turned to face me with really big eyes and I knew instantly that I was totally fucked. "Aha! I knew it!"

I glared at him. "Shut up Tyler!"

He shook his head vehemently. "Nuh uh. You should have just told me he kissed you. You did punch him didn't you? I never did believe that whole 'I fell and he tried to catch me' bullshit. That was clearly a shiner he was sporting. And a good one too. Well done!"

Emmett, Alice, and Garrett all shouted at once. "You punched him?"

Garrett started bouncing up and down to scoot his chair closer so that he could hear every detail.

I just stared at my beer bottle and groaned. "Oh God. I can't believe this."

Garrett leaned towards Tyler and grabbed the armrest of his chair and shook it. "Dude Tyler. Spill. What do you know?"

Tyler kicked his feet up in surprise but laughed, enjoying the spotlight.

He focused on Emmett, who would most likely remember most of the evening as well. "Senior party, '98 right after you guys graduated. Bella and I had gone out a couple of times and I had high hopes for that night."

I noticed Lauren rolled her eyes and looked away, but everyone else was captivated.

Edward snorted. "High hopes. That's a polite way of summarizing what you were saying in the locker room."

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know. I was a douche bag in high school. But Bella knows I feel badly about that. Water under the bridge."

He was focused on Emmett and Garrett. "So we were just going to slip away into the woods for a little macking when this dude," he pointed at Edward, "he comes running up behind us and basically tells me to pound pavement or he'll pound on me."

"Bella was clearly pissed but I wasn't going to mess with him and I knew that he'd never do anything to hurt her the way he was always so damn protective, so I split. And clearly she can take care of herself. I ran into him a few days later and he had a nasty shiner."

Edward leaned towards me. "Bet your hand took even longer to heal than my face."

Alice gasped and Emmett choked on his beer. "Wait, you got that bruise from Bella punching you? You said she fell."

Alice gasped. "Yeah, you said you were in the woods and she was upset because of the shit Tyler was saying about her, that she fell down and you tried to catch her and she hit you with her elbow."

I snorted.

Edward chuckled. "Yeah, she fell down all right. More like her fist fell into my face."

Emmett howled with laughter and leaned forward. "Wait. You punched him? Why? I mean, that's awesome, but just because he kissed you?"

"No." I said.

"Yes." Edward said at the same time.

I looked at Edward and he frowned at me. "What do you mean '_no'_? I kissed you and you punched me. It's pretty simple Bella."

"You know that's not all there was to it."

His eyebrows arched upwards. "No, I don't."

I felt my anger ignite and I glared at him. I spoke very slowly. "Yes. You do."

He looked at me like I had grown a second head. "I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. I kissed you… that's it. You could have just told me to fuck off, but you chose to hit me. "

I jumped out of my seat. "You know, you haven't changed a bit. You still act like you are so perfect; you're so narcissistic it's pathetic."

He shot me a nasty look. "And you're just the picture of level headedness."

I glared at him. "You know most people don't take kindly to being jerked around repeatedly for years and years. It gets a little irritating. I guess I'm finally just sick and tired of putting up with your bullshit. When we get home you need to move the fuck out Edward and leave me the hell alone."

His expression turned hard. "Fine. No problem."

I stood up from my chair and started to walk off. I wasn't watching where I was going and it was dark but I needed to burn off some energy and get as far away from him as I could. Of course, I couldn't outrun the memories, the pain, or the tears.

_--_

_**Bella – Senior Party 1998**_

_He'd backed me into a tree and his green eyes were inches from mine and glowing in intensity._

"_I am not your big brother Bella."_

_And then he was on me. His hands were at my waist, strong yet gentle. His lips were soft but intense. They pressed against mine and demanded to be received as they started moving, sucking and tugging. I responded to him without even thinking and reached up and pulled on him, tugging him closer. Then his tongue was stroking against mine._

_I could taste the beer that he'd been drinking earlier and smell it on his breath. But I didn't care, because it was Edward, and he was kissing me and it was everything I'd ever hoped it would be. I forgot about everything else but him._

_One hand was braced against the tree behind me and the other ran up my side, over my arm and shoulder, until he was palming my neck and his fingers were getting tangled in my hair__; his thumb stroking my jaw._

_When we finally needed air he didn't back away, but used his hold on me to tip my head up and he ran his open mouth down over my chin and back along my jaw, nipping lightly and then sucking at the spot below my ear. His breath was warm and my own breathing was heavy as I ran my fingers up his back and over his shoulder until I could scratch and tug at his hair. _

_But then he spoke one word. "Bella" _

_It came out as a ragged sigh laced with longing; so different than any other time he'd said my name before. So much so, that it shocked me back from wherever my mind had wandered off to._

_I put both hands on his chest and shoved him back hard, desperate to get space between us so I could think again._

"_Edward wait."_

--

**Edward**

I was stunned. Shocked. I had absolutely no idea what she was so angry about.

"You know most people don't take kindly to being jerked around repeatedly for years and years. It gets a little irritating. I guess I'm finally just sick and tired of putting up with your bullshit. When we get home you need to move the fuck out Edward and leave me the hell alone."

Her words cut like a knife. It was the last thing I wanted to hear, but I couldn't stop the defensive wall from going up. "Fine. No problem."

I saw a flicker of hurt pass her face when I said it, but I couldn't understand why. I agreed to do what she asked, so why would that hurt her? I watched as she slipped between Garrett and Rosalie and started to walk across the yard.

As she walked away from me I felt a physical pull to follow her, but a warring need for self preservation caused my entire body to go rigid from the internal conflict.

I tipped my head back and closed my eyes, wishing that all the shocked and inquiring faces around me would disappear while they were closed. I vaguely recognized that I was pinching the bridge of my nose again. It was that same nervous habit that Garrett had pointed out was in Bella's book and I sighed in frustration.

Then my entire chair was rocked by a sudden impact and Garrett was shouting at me. I opened my eyes and saw Garrett's foot dropping to the ground and realized that he had just kicked my chair.

"You fucking idiot! What the fuck are you doing just sitting there? Get your ass out of that chair and go after her!"

Alice was on the other side of me and she chimed in. "He's right Edward. Go. Quit dancing around the issue."

I paused. "Alice, we haven't even talked about this yet."

She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Seriously? Do we even need to? What's the worst that could happen? You guys give it a shot and it doesn't work. Maybe it will be awkward and tense whenever we all get together. Oh wait! It already is! Jesus Edward, stop looking for reasons to fuck this up and go fix it."

It took about a second for all of it to sink in and when I looked back for Bella I could barely see her across the yard and about to duck through the trees onto the path we had taken yesterday to the clearing with the picnic table. What was she thinking going into the woods all alone at night like that?

In one swift movement I was up and running. I leapt over the fire and ran after her. I still couldn't understand how our perspectives of that night could be so different, but I was going to get to the bottom of it and fix this mess once and for all.

--

_**Edward – Senior Party 1998**_

_I dragged my mouth away from hers, but couldn't stand the idea of disconnecting from her entirely. She was so soft__, and smelled so good that I was lost. _

_I vaguely noticed that I groaned her name into her neck. I was giddy; in fact I wanted to laugh out loud at how completely perfect that kiss was._

_But then she shoved me and I didn't understand. She said something__, but I missed it because I tripped over something and almost fell, but I caught myself on another tree._

_She was watching me closely. "Are you drunk?"_

_I answered her honestly, because I didn't care at the moment. "Maybe a little, but does it really matter?"_

_She shook her head to try and clear her thoughts apparently. "Of course it matters. What did that mean Edward? Why now?"_

_I wanted to pick her up and kiss her over and over again, but I tried to focus on what she was asking me. She wanted to know why now. I was just so relieved that I'd finally made a move and she hadn't freaked out on me. So I decided to be honest and just tell her the truth; that I couldn't stand to see her with someone else when I wanted to be with her so badly. All these thoughts came out in a goofy sounding giggle._

"_Um__, well honestly? Because Tyler was talking in the locker room today. He was telling a couple of the guys that you two were going to…"_

_I saw her eyes flash from confused to furious like lightening and I realized my mistake. I thumped on my head with my fist while I tried to figure out how to __back peddle and fix the situation. I desperately wanted it to go back to the perfection that it was just seconds before. _

_I shook my head. "Nevermind. I guess –" _

_She cut me off. "Wait, no what about Tyler? What was he saying? That I was going to sleep with him? That he was going to take me out to the woods and I was going to willingly fuck him?"_

_I didn't like the way she'd put herself in that context; it physically hurt to think about her out here doing that. But my inebriated mind wasn't able to articulate fast enough how much that bothered me and I just nodded. _

"_So you thought you would just cut him off at the pass?"_

_Well that was one way of putting it. I was so glad that she understood that I didn't want that to happen that I actually laughed. "I guess so…"_

_I never saw it coming when her little fist connected with my left cheekbone. I stumbled to the side and doubled over._

"_Damnit! What the fuck Bella!"_

"_You are such an __ASSHOLE Cullen!"_

_She stomped out of the woods then and left me stunned and confused and hurting. For a moment I worried about her hand because holy shit that was one hell of a punch; it had to have hurt her too._

_Eventually I stumbled back to the party and Emmett drove us home. He tried to ask what the hell happened because my face was already starting to swell. I told him that I didn't want to talk about it and surprisingly, he actually dropped it._

_--_

I stayed far enough behind her that she wouldn't feel threatened, but I stayed close enough that she was never out of my sight. Eventually the sounds of her sniffling could be heard through the quiet forest and I realized she was crying.

I wanted to run after her and catch her, hug her and tell her it was such a huge mistake and make it all better. But that would be glossing it over again, and we really needed to just fight through it.

Eventually, we reached the clearing and she walked to the other side of the picnic table and stopped.

I stayed on my side of the table, feeling like we needed some physical distance between us while we sorted through this.

"Bella?"

She didn't turn around, but a small sob shook her body and I barely heard it.

"Bella please talk to me. I don't understand why you're so angry, but I don't want to walk away this time. I want to make it right. To make it work."

She swung around to face me.

**Bella**

"Of course you do. Out here, when no one's around to hear you, you don't want to walk away."

"What?"

"I finally figured it out Edward. It's how you operate. You've always gotten your kicks out of getting a reaction out of me. Well you got one. Are you happy now? Can we quit this little game?"

"Bella I'm not playing any games. I told you that I don't regret kissing you."

"Yep, you told me alright. When no one could hear you. But out there you treat me like I'm some kind of violent lunatic who cold cocked you for giving me a peck on the cheek."

"That is not what I said. Look, you punched me Bella. I didn't trick you into it. Yes, I kissed you, and I didn't deny it, but yeah, punching a guy for it is a bit of an extreme reaction, don't you think?"

"And what about all the other shit?"

"What other shit?"

"This is you Edward, back and forth, up and down." I was waving my arms in dramatic gestures to emphasize my point. "We go to prom and you flip out because someone dared to suggest we might be together, but then when we're alone in the limo you say all these things about how amazing I am, and I drive you crazy. Then you don't talk to me for a month and a half. I mean what the fuck is up with that?"

He frowned. "I don't know, I guess –"

I cut him off. Now that all of the things I'd ever wanted to say had started flowing I couldn't bottle them up anymore. "That night that you chased off Tyler you'd hardly spoken to me in a month and a half. Then all of a sudden you get me out in the woods and try to fuck me when no one's looking. So yeah, I punched you. And I'd punch any other asshole that treated me like a whore too."

His mouth fell open in shock and his eyes bulged. He started shouting. "Jesus Christ! There's irrational and then there's just plain make-believe. That never happened!"

"Oh My God Edward! Look _I_ wasn't drunk that night. I remember very well what happened out there in those woods! I get that you were drunk, and maybe that clouded your judgment, which is why I told you there were no hard feelings, but I will not let you put it all on me. I am sick and tired of being treated like something you're ashamed of. Either you want to be with me or you don't."

His mouth started moving, but I held up a hand to stop him. "Clearly you don't because if you did you wouldn't be whispering one thing in my ear and sending me cryptic little messages all while making me look stupid in front of our friends. So unless you want to actually be real, then leave me the fuck alone. No more games. Don't talk to me. Don't touch me. Just leave me alone."

I held his gaze and watched as several emotions washed over him. His mouth opened and closed several times. He crossed his arms and dropped his gaze to the ground while he processed everything I'd said.

I shifted uncomfortably as the seconds dragged on and he tried to figure out what to do. When I finally couldn't take it anymore I just shook my head and sighed. "It's fine Edward. You don't owe me any explanations, just let it be. I said what I needed to say and if you'll just leave me alone from now on I'd appreciate it."

His expression hardened and his jaw locked. All of his body language shifted to one of focus and determination. As fast as he could move he was around the picnic bench and grabbed my hand. "No, I won't. Not yet anyway."

He started pulling me back up the trail. I pulled back hard. "What are you doing?"

"Bella you just made a whole slew of accusations about me. One of those accusations was that I say and do one thing in private and another thing in public. So, before I address anything else, I'd like to go back to the fire where all of our friends and family can hear what I have to say to you. You can either walk or I will carry you."

We stared at each other for several seconds and when I didn't move he took a step towards me and bent to grab my waist. "Fine have it your way."

I smacked his shoulder and shoved him hard. "Edward stop. I'm not going back there so you can make an ass out of me again. If you've got something to say, then just say it, but so help me God do not fuck with me anymore."

"Okay, fine. Look Bella, I'll be the first to admit, that I was a pussy. I was so damn scared of looking like an asshole. I was afraid to take a risk. I did what I should, when I should, and how I should. That means everything from the grades I got, what I wore, and who I dated. Christ, you were my sister's best friend. Don't you think there's a little something taboo about that? And then I heard that you were telling people that kissing me would be like kissing your own brother."

"I never said that."

"Yeah, I know that now. Jessica told me today that she lied way back then."

"But from my perspective, I always wanted you; I just didn't think you wanted _me_. When we went to prom I was so nervous I almost had a panic attack getting ready. So I started drinking to calm down. I don't even remember what Karen said about us, or whatever it is I said in the limo, but by the sounds of it, it's probably one of the few times I was actually honest."

I rolled my eyes. How convenient, he forgets.

"Don't roll your eyes at me. I'm being serious. Keep it up and I will drag your ass back to that fire."

"Fine, go on." I had been fighting off the pain with my anger, but his words were breaking through my fury. I folded my arms over my chest defensively, but it didn't stop the ache.

"Bella, I kissed you that night in the woods because I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted you. I hated the idea of you and Crowley so much it was physically painful."

I smirked. "Yeah, I know the feeling. I got to hear all about you and Jessica on a regular basis."

He nodded. "I know, I'm sorry. If I'd known I ever had a shot…"

"Yeah, got that. You would have tried to fuck me even sooner."

"I WAS NOT TRYING TO FUCK YOU!"

"Yell it a little louder Edward. I'm not sure your parents heard you back in Seattle."

"Well stop making me sound like a predator!"

We stared each other down for several seconds while we tried to get our tempers under control.

"Bella, I would give anything to get the last ten years back. I was a pussy and I made a _lot_ of mistakes. I didn't think you were interested in me, but let me make this crystal clear. I have _always _wanted you. _Always_."

I felt a lump forming in my throat and my eyes started to water. He took a step towards me.

"I'll say it now. I'll say it in front of all of those people back there. I told you that there will be no more mixed signals and I meant it. I can't take back all the mistakes I made, but I wish I could; I'd like a do-over on a lot of things. I promise that I will not make you regret it if you can trust me one more time."

I felt a tear run down my cheek. I had to swallow hard to get any sound out at all and it still came out as a whisper. "Well, we can't do much about the last ten years, but here we are again, alone in the woods. It's as close as we can get to a do-over."

The change in his entire body was tangible. His entire face softened as a smile spread across his face. His shoulders relaxed and his eyes were glowing. In three quick strides he cleared the distance between us and cupped my face in his hands.

"You won't hit me this time?"

I grinned back and giggled. "I promise no unnecessary violence."

"And I promise that I'm not trying to fuck you." And then he got this sexy glint in his eye and winked at me. "Not tonight anyway."

I gasped and my breath caught as he lowered his face to mine. There was no pressure, just slow and soft and easy. And not nearly enough.

I reached up and curled my hand around his neck and pulled him down to me telling him what I wanted. And when he understood he groaned and pulled me tighter against him.

His hands wrapped around my waist and he lifted me gently into the air as he backed up to the picnic table and then sat on the top of it, lifting me to straddle his lap.

The moment our lips met I felt something shift and click into place. It was like we were two magnets trying to fit together, but for some reason for the last ten years the polarity had been wrong and we were constantly being pushed apart. But when we finally sorted through all the bullshit and misunderstandings, everything reversed. When we kissed, I felt a powerful tug from deep inside me and finally, with a click, we fit together. Perfectly.

There in the woods we did the best we could to recover all the time we'd lost. Pushing, pulling, touching and breathing against each other, time passed in leaps and lunges as the sky darkened overhead.

There was a heat and a passion thundering between us. Our heartbeats were beating our own rhythm and neither of us noticed as it was being echoed through the forest around us until the first drops of rain started to fall.

And then suddenly the rain was pounding down all around us and we were being pelted with large cold drops.

With a sigh he pulled back and rested his forehead against mine. "Will we never catch a break?"

I laughed back, not really caring about the rain. "I sure hope so."

With a laugh he picked me up and lifted me off him. He took my hand in his and kissed my knuckles before he pulled me along.

"Come on, we're getting soaked."

Together, finally, we ran back to the cottage.

* * *

**A/N:**

**The good news… well, the good news is that you made it to the end of this hellong chapter.**

**The bad news… S32 and TG are taking a break to prepare for****, and celebrate Christmas with our families. We have cookies to bake, presents to wrap, mittens to knit, friends and families to spend the holiday with. **

**Because we planned this break, Chapter 12 is not complete yet, so teasers will not be available for reviews. Sorry. We will post teasers in our various threads when one is available.**

**Speaking of threads,Thank you to diamondsteffi for starting a Proxy thread at Twilighted. A link to the thread is in our profile. *Hugs* Steffi!**

**As always, thank you for reading, reviewing, rec'ing, and for hitting the fave and alert buttons. We appreciate you all so much.**

**Happy Holidays,**

**S32 & TG**

_**P.S. We had some major FF.n fail... formatting, edits reverted to first draft, random words in random places (???) Hopefully everything is fixed now. **  
_


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N**

**Love and thanks to Aruni, who offers her wisdom, our Red Pen Goddesses Maylin and AzureEyed1, and the chicas in UUtopia.**

**Song for Chapter 12:**

"**Honey, Let Me Sing You A Song" – Matt Hires**

_**We know**_**, the hiatus was way longer than expected. The new year hasn't been pleasant for either of us. See you at the bottom.**

**Rated M for language and possible future, well, you know. If you're not old enough to buy mature rated materials, you shouldn't be reading this (and your parents should install Net Nanny.)**

**Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight, **_**obviously.**_

_**

* * *

  
**_

_The moment our lips met I felt something shift and click into place. It was like we were two magnets trying to fit together, but for some reason for the last ten years the polarity had been wrong and we were constantly being pushed apart. But when we finally sorted through all the bullshit and misunderstandings, everything reversed. When we kissed, I felt a powerful tug from deep inside me and finally, with a click, we fit together. Perfectly._

_There in the woods we did the best we could to recover all the time we__'d lost. Pushing, pulling, touching and breathing against each other, time passed in leaps and lunges as the sky darkened overhead._

_There was a heat and a passion thundering between us. Our heartbeats were beating our own rhythm and neither of us noticed as it was being echoed through the forest around us until the first drops of rain started to fall._

_And then suddenly the rain was pounding down all around us and we were being pelted with large cold drops._

_With a sigh he pulled back and rested his forehead against mine. "Will we never catch a break?"_

_I laughed back, not really caring about the rain. "I sure hope so."_

_With a laugh he picked me up and lifted me off him. He took my hand in his and kissed my knuckles before he pulled me along._

"_Come on, we're getting soaked."_

_Together, finally, we ran back to the cottage._

**Bella**

Halfway back to the cottage, he slowed to a walk and then stepped off the path and into the trees. The foliage was thick and it offered some shelter from the rain; only a few thick drops filtered through the leaves.

"What are you doing?" I was a bit breathless, whether from our kiss, the running, or the electricity coursing between us.

He pulled me further into the dense forest before he turned and faced me, cupping my face with his hands. "I just- I couldn't wait any more."

It was dark, nearly pitch black, as the forest blocked any light from nearby cottages, and the stars stayed hidden behind the thick storm clouds. With each flash of lightning, we were allowed brief glimpses of our surroundings, but I had barely noticed where we were, and could hardly care, because seeing his eyes, as his face neared mine, I was taken by them as they twinkled with excitement, joy, and need.

Just before our lips met, his whispered, "I've waited so long. I…"

He kissed me softly, his lips just brushing against mine, and then again more deeply as his hands slid over my jaw and down my neck as our kissing quickly grew more heated.

Eventually, he dragged his mouth away from mine and we were both inhaling ragged breaths. My head dropped back and thumped against the tree; I hadn't even realized we'd been moving until I hit it. I was now trapped between the tree and Edward's body as it pressed wonderfully against mine.

He bent his knees, one thigh wedged between mine as he dropped his head to get at my neck again. He hadn't shaved over the weekend and his jaw was covered in stubble. It rubbed roughly against my skin as he attacked my neck. It was the most delicious sensation and I lost all concept of where we were, I just needed him to feel closer. I dragged my nails up over his shoulders and into his hair, pulling him against me. "No more waiting. Here."

He moaned, barely keeping control. "God, Bella."

He dipped slightly lower as his hands trailed down my back, across my ass, going further down the back of my thighs. He stood upright, lifting me with him, and as he did so, leaned a leg into the tree to help support me as he came back to my mouth.

Our hands were everywhere, touching, pulling, and needing each other. At some point it seeped into my consciousness that the rain had picked up. The forest canopy, which had seemingly, only moments before, offered some degree of protection, was now saturated, and showering down on us. As he attacked my neck again, I ran my hand through his hair, brushing it back from where it stuck to his forehead, and down into his eyes.

I didn't know if either of us gave any thought to where this was heading, or when it was going to stop, because we were both so lost in the moment. His fingers had just slid under the hem of my fleece pullover and were tickling at the flesh on my side when a deafening crash thundered through the forest with a bright flash of lightning. When I yelped, his arms reflexively tightened around me as we both jumped and gasped.

I met his wide eyes with my own and he swallowed hard, tipping his face up into the rain looking for a way to cool off. The sparse light reflected off a trickle of water that ran down from his chin and over his Adam's apple. Without thinking, my tongue came out and ran up the length of his throat, delighting in the harshness of his stubble. He groaned and tipped his chin down to meet me. As I sucked lightly on his chin, our eyes met. The look in his eyes told me that, with just a flick of my tongue, I'd unravel him and he'd take me right there against the tree.

He kissed me hard, asking for it, nearly begging me to give him permission. But I couldn't do it. I was scared. So scared he'd regret it in the morning if I let this go too far tonight. Instead, I took everything he gave me, but pushed him no further.

Eventually, his hands tightened around my waist and he forced himself to pull back away from me. "Come on. We should get back or you really will be the death of me out here."

I smiled and nodded, "That's probably a good idea."

He took my hand and led me back out to the path, which was fortunate because my mind was so clouded that I didn't even know which direction to turn, and would probably have gotten lost in the woods without him. We ran back up the path, and within a few minutes found the yard to the cottage.

The rain was coming down in sheets over us and our clothes were soaked through. The bonfire had long been abandoned and the yard deserted. We dashed for the steps and both of us took them two at a time, laughing and panting the entire way.

Just as we cleared the top of the steps, Garrett and Jasper came around the corner of the deck both wearing rain ponchos. Garrett's was covered with large pink flowers, while Jasper's was decorated with yellow rubber duckies. They both stopped in their tracks, as Garrett threw up his hands "Oh, thank God!"

I snickered quietly while Edward broke out in loud laughter. Garrett just scowled at us. "Ha ha, laugh it up funny guy. Alice found these ridiculous ponchos and insisted that we had to go out in search of you assholes."

Jasper pulled two towels out from under his poncho and handed them to Edward. "Did you get lost or something?"

Edward handed me one of the towels, grinning. We locked eyes as he answered Jasper. "Or something."

Garrett exhaled, frustrated, then turned to head back to his cottage. "Lovely. I hope you catch pneumonia you love-sick fools."

Jasper nodded his head once and gave us a small smile, obviously more forgiving of the situation. "Good night guys."

We both said goodnight, and began tugging at our clothing. My fleece pullover was heavy with water and sticking to my t-shirt, making it difficult to remove. Edward quickly stripped out of his t-shirt and saw that I was still struggling so he turned to help me.

"Here." He said, and grabbed at the hem while I raised my arms. He quickly lifted it over my head. My wet hair came down with a loud flap against my back just before I heard Edward suck in a quick breath of air. I looked at his face just in time to see him averting his eyes away from me. I glanced down and saw that my t-shirt was soaked through and nearly transparent; the thin lace of my bra was clearly visible through it.

"Oh, sorry!" I gasped and quickly covered myself, while Edward hastily unfolded a towel and wrapped his arms, with the towel, around me.

He leaned down and kissed me hard. "I'd stand here all day, but I don't want anyone else to see this."

I giggled and wiggled my way out of my jeans under the towel, while Edward just patted his down. We sneaked inside the dark cottage and headed up the stairs together, however when we got to the door of the room I shared with Lauren, I stopped and stared at it; Lauren's scarf was tied to the doorknob.

I huffed with irritation, and Edward shifted behind me. "Everything okay?"

I pointed to the scarf, "That's Lauren's signal. The room is apparently _occupied_."

A look of understanding crossed his face. "Oh." And then he tried to fight back a grin, "Go Tyler."

I sighed and looked around for any of my things, hoping that Lauren had anticipated that I might actually need to get ready for bed. "I can take Tyler's couch, but obviously she didn't bother to consider that all of my stuff is in there."

He reached down and squeezed my hand. "I can get you something dry to wear, but what about your meds? The antibiotic, you can make up in the morning, but you shouldn't miss a dose of your steroids."

I shook my head, "No problem. I finished them both this morning. If you have a t-shirt and some toothpaste, I can finger brush and call it good."

He walked over to his bag and started digging through it. "I'll go to the other couch. You stay here and get warm." He handed me a shirt and then held up a pair of boxers and a set of pajama pants. "I've only got one pair of pajama pants. I can sleep in my boxers though, if you want them. But they'll probably be huge, so you might prefer the boxers anyway."

I cocked my head to the side and squinted at him. "I can deal with the rain just as well as you can, you know."

He rolled his eyes, "I know that Bella. I'm trying to be a gentleman here. Will you stop fighting me and just let me be polite like my mother raised me?"

"Fine." I said, as I took the boxers. If he was going to stay in Jessica's cottage, then I sure as hell wasn't going to let her catch a glimpse of him in his underwear. "Thank you."

He smiled and nodded just as an intense shiver ran through me. "Go. Change. It's cold in here. I'll go build a fire."

"Thank you," I smiled at him, before turning towards the bathroom.

By the time I'd fully dried off and changed into dry clothes, Edward had the sofa bed pulled out, made, and had just started to light a fire in the fireplace. I tip-toed down the steps, startling him when I walked up behind him and ran a hand up the back of his neck and into his still damp hair.

"Thanks for building the fire, I'm freezing. You must be too. Why don't you go change and I'll finish this?"

He shrugged, "I don't want to change and then run through the rain in my pajamas. I'll get dressed over there."

I didn't want him to leave and turned to look at the sofa bed that he'd just made. It was certainly large enough for the both of us, but I couldn't work up the courage to ask him to stay with me. Instead I sat down and watched him light the fire and then poke at it until it was blazing. When he'd decided it was going to burn well for a while, he turned to face me, kneeling next to the bed.

He smiled and reached out his hand. I took it uncertainly and let him pull me up to standing again. He reached out and pulled back the blanket and sheet, and then had me sit down again before lifting my legs up and into the bed to tuck me in. The gesture was sweet and loving, and would have been innocent if I hadn't kept thinking about pulling him into bed with me.

He leaned forward and kissed me softly, and then sat back to stare at me for a moment. The flames were dancing behind his bare shoulders, and the light was picking up the gold flecks in his eyes. I could hear my heart beating over the now distant thunder; anxious, as I was about to give into the urge to ask him to stay, but there was just enough light to see the uncertainty dancing in his eyes. His hesitation caused me to pause as well.

He stroked my cheek for a moment, and then leaned in for one last kiss before nudging my nose with his own. "Goodnight beautiful Bella."

I closed my eyes, embarrassed, hoping the room was dark enough to hide the heat rising up my neck and across my cheeks.

I opened my eyes in time to watch him pick up his duffel bag and slip out through the sliding glass door. I breathed a sigh of regret mixed with relief. I was certain that if he'd asked to stay with me tonight, I'd have let him. More than that, if he'd asked to make love to me, I would have let him do that too. The pull between us was just too intense to try fighting against anymore.

I curled up on my side and watched the fire, waiting for sleep to take over. I didn't know how long I lay there going over the night's events in my head before the sliding door slid open again and Edward stepped back into the cottage. My heart leapt as I sat up and tried to act casual.

"Did you forget something?" I asked as I watched him quietly cross the room, setting his duffel bag down at the foot of the stairs.

"No. It seems that Jessica locked Mike out of the bedroom. He's passed out on the sofa."

I snorted a laugh. "Shocker."

He nodded toward the recliner, "I'll just take the recliner."

I shook my head quickly, "Edward, there's a difference between being polite, and being ridiculous. You're not sleeping in a chair. Sleep here." I said, pointing to the empty side of the sofa bed.

His eyes flicked from the open space in the bed, and my eyes before the corner of his mouth pulled up. "You don't mind? I didn't want to be presumptuous."

"No, I definitely don't mind. I actually kind of did mind you going back to the other cottage, so yay Mike for getting trashed and pissing off Jessica." I raised my hand and gave a little fist pump.

He grinned and leaned over to give me a kiss on the top of my head. "Okay, I'll go change then."

I nodded, smiling, and then laid back on the bed listening to the storm outside, waiting for him to dry off and change. The storm had been dying off, but it seemed that a new front was moving in. Much like Edward and me. When it looked like things were going to settle down for the night, he was climbing into the bed with me, and a new storm was on the horizon.

Just as Edward opened the bathroom door, there was a flash of lightning, so I counted off the seconds before the crash of thunder. He approached the sofa bed, and I held up a finger for him to wait while I finished counting.

"Twelve, thirteen, fourteen… " the thunder rolled roughly fifteen miles away, and Edward started to laugh.

I watched him walk around the bed and climb in next to me. I sat up to look at him, "What's so funny?"

He was smiling, "Do you remember when I taught you to do that?"

My eyes grew wide, as I remembered too. "Yeah. I'd forgotten about that. That was one of the only times you were nice to me back then."

He chuckled. "Well, you were already crying, so I couldn't very well make it worse, could I?"

He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled my back against his chest, completely folding his body around mine. His skin felt cool from the night air, while I had been curled up under the blankets in front of the fire he'd made for me.

"Mmm, you're warm." He whispered.

I hissed as his toes came in contact with mine, but I squeezed them anyway because they were ice cold and I wanted to warm him up. "You're freezing."

"Sorry, the tile is so cold. Anyway, you must have been, what, maybe eight years old when you stayed with us that night?"

"No way. I think I was six. I hadn't lived in Forks for very long at all. That's why I was so scared of the thunderstorms."

"Really? We were that young? No wonder my parents were so upset when they found me in your bed that morning."

I gasped, "What? I don't remember that!"

His laughter caused us both to shake. "Really? What _do_ you remember?"

"I remember it was dark, and I didn't know the house very well and there was a storm. Alice slept like the dead and I couldn't wake her up, so I started crying because I was scared. Then you came in."

"I was reading in my room with a flashlight that night, because I'd stolen Emmett's new Superman comic and I needed to put it back before he found out. Anyway, the storm started rolling in, and I heard you crying, so I went in there to see what was wrong. You were all curled up in a ball in the corner… you were scared to death. I sat down next to you and told you everything I knew about thunderstorms, and how to count out how many miles away the storm was so you'd know when it was going away again. Then I read the comic to you while we waited for it to pass us by. By the time the storm was really close, you were so into the comic that you weren't counting anymore. When it was moving away, I finally got you to go back to bed, but you still didn't want me to leave. I guess I fell asleep, and then my parents peeked in the next morning and found me and you in bed together."

"Were they mad?"

"I think they were just a little freaked out, but when I told them why I was in there, they got over it. I did it every time it stormed for a few years, and they knew it. But then when I turned ten, they had us change bedrooms, remember?"

I nodded; I remembered it well. He had been so excited to get the big bedroom upstairs. I was upset because I hated him being on a different floor when I stayed over.

He kissed my ear and then continued, "They made a big production of redecorating. They put me and Emmett upstairs, and Alice in the far bedroom, so that they were between Alice's room and the stairs. They always slept with their door open whenever you stayed over after that. I guess it was their way of making sure that stopped happening before we got too old."

"Seriously? That's why they had that little bedroom? I always thought it was so weird that of all the rooms in that house, they had the smallest one."

"Yeah, It was the only way to make sure that we weren't sneaking back and forth."

We laughed together in the light of the fire and then grew quiet, enjoying the feeling of being snuggled together. Eventually another huge flash of lightning caused me to jump. He squeezed me tighter and stroked my hair, and then leaned over me to kiss the shell of my ear. "One."

Then he kissed behind it, "Two."

The corner of my jaw, "Three."

The side of my jaw, "Four."

I turned to meet him halfway and he kissed the corner of my mouth as we whispered together, "Five."

On the sixth kiss he finally reached my mouth. As the thunder rolled he pulled me on top of him and slid his tongue into my open mouth. He set a slow and gentle pace that soon turned hot and frantic. As the storm grew in intensity, so did Edward and I.

He was shirtless and warm, and touching me so gently. When his hand finally slid under my shirt and massaged the skin of my back, he lit a fire in me. The kissing had grown intense to the point that we were nipping and moaning. When he shifted to nibble at my jaw, I arched my back and his hand finally snaked over my ribs, his thumb grazing my breast. I groaned and arched against him again, prompting him to finally touch me. When he palmed my breast I ground my hips against him in response. My body was an inferno in his hands as my restraint crumbled. If he wanted me, I was his.

I sat up to pull my shirt over my head, and that's when he stopped me.

He grabbed hold of my hand, pausing for a moment, and then pulled me back for another heated kiss. I could tell that he was also battling a raging conflict in his own mind. Finally he bit down gently on my lip without pulling away. He loosed a low growling moan that was so erotic that I thought I might finally burst into flames.

He released me and mumbled against my mouth, "Wait."

I froze, staring directly into his eyes, "What?"

He cupped my face in his hands and held me back so he could see my face. "Dear God, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think we should wait."

I exhaled, frustrated, and arched my eyebrows at him. "Why?"

"Believe me when I say that I really don't want to wait, but I really don't want Tyler or Emmett, or anyone else for that matter, walking out here and catching us...like that." He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Call me possessive Bella, but you are so beautiful right now, and I want it all to myself. I can't handle anyone else seeing you like this. And I don't want the first time to be like this… keeping one ear open, listening for someone to walk in, because I don't think I'd be able to divide my attention like that. You deserve something better. I think we both do."

I nodded.

He exhaled, somewhat relieved, like he thought I'd be upset. "Really?"

"Yes really. You're right. We can wait."

He pulled me back down and kissed me again; a much cooler, gentler kiss, bringing us back down from where we'd been only minutes before.

I curled against his side and tried to get myself under control, but it wasn't easy. My whole body was alert and aching. I worked to settle my breathing while I lay my head on his shoulder and listened to his heartbeat. He was the doctor, but his heart seemed to be beating a bit fast to me, so it made me feel like maybe I wasn't the only one struggling to keep control here.

It only got worse a few minutes later when another noise echoed through the cottage. There was a distinct rhythmic sound coming from somewhere else in the house. It wasn't porn-style banging, but it was obviously the sounds of someone else doing exactly what we wanted to do.

I tried to ignore it and didn't say anything to Edward, but a buzzing current was flowing between us already, and something about the increased tension told me that he'd heard it too. We lay there together, both breathing shallow breaths, listening to the storm as the rhythmic thumping grew slowly louder and faster.

As the thunder and lightning grew closer together, I drew in closer to Edward's chest, watching the lightning out the window and timing the distance, while I tried to keep my mind off the noises coming from the other bedroom.

At some point I'd started drawing circles around his abdomen with the tips of my fingers while I timed the thunder. I hadn't even realized I'd been doing it until Edward suddenly drew in a deep breath and grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Stop, please."

"What? What was I doing?"

"Killing me. Each pass your fingers moved a fraction lower, and you were about two passes away from getting something you hadn't anticipated."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" I shifted to wrap my arms around his neck, and in the process brought my knee up, which caused him to draw in another deep breath and grip my knee.

"Here, let's just…" His words trailed off as he rolled up and onto his side. He nudged me to roll in the other direction so that I was back in the spooning position, watching the fire, like we'd been when we started.

"Is this okay?" he asked, as he pulled me closer against his chest.

I nodded, "Mhmm. Good."

He sighed, "Good night Bella."

I smiled to myself, "Goodnight Edward."

I'm sure it wasn't just me who lay awake for a long time, waiting for the fire to die down.

**

_The sun was warm on my skin; it was a beautiful day. I was lying on my back in the thick grass, surrounded by purple wildflowers. Edward was lying alongside me, flush with my body, our legs intertwined. He was leaning over me with his head propped up by his fist, leaning on his elbow. The sun was positioned behind his head so that the light reflected off his hair, surrounding his face in a bronze and gold halo._

_He was smiling at me, and I was smiling back as I ran my fingers over his cheek. He was laughing at something I'd said. The shaking of his body making me bounce against him; we were happy. When he opened his mouth to speak, a strange sounding noise drowned out his words._

_I felt my brow furrow as I tried to hear what he was saying._

"_What?" I asked._

_He laughed and was talking again, but just as before, his voice was lost beneath another noise._

"Ahem."

_The sun shifted and Edward's shining face was lost in the glare of the bright white sunlight behind him. The brightness hit the back of my eyelids, causing me to reflexively scrunch up my face and close my eyes tighter, but otherwise, I didn't move. I squinted into the glare, trying to find him, but a shadow fell over us and he was lost again._

I was slowly being roused from sleep, as my body was shaken gently from behind. I peeked open my eyes to see a hand close to my face, blocking the sun from my eyes.

"Ahem." Someone cleared their throat and took a step closer to the bed, blocking the sunlight. Emmett's head appeared over the top of the hand shielding me from the bright light. He was scowling at something over my shoulder. That's when I focused on the warmth surrounding me.

Edward. He was curled up behind me, his body mirroring my position; exactly how we'd fallen asleep the night before. I allowed my eyes to close again and snuggled back into his warmth with a sigh.

I heard the distant zipping sound that I recognized as someone pulling up the window blinds. I assumed it was Rosalie, and the reason why I'd been suddenly blinded by sunlight.

I heard Edward's voice whispering over my ear. "Hey Em, good morning." He was apparently trying not to wake me.

"Is it now?" Emmett sounded pissed.

I felt Edward shift slightly, and realized that his arm was draped over my side and under my shirt. His right hand sat flat against skin, just under my breast. Strangely enough, and maybe because I was still half asleep, I couldn't bring myself to feel embarrassed by the intimacy of the moment being witnessed by Em. I didn't resist or give any sign that I was awake; I didn't want to move.

Edward yawned, "Yeah, it is."

There was a pause and then the sound of Emmett sighing.

"What?" Edward whispered again, his voice laced with confusion.

There was another pause, and then Edward shifted again. The muscles in his arm twitched, followed by his fingers. They twitched in awakening, gently squeezing me. Edward exhaled a soft breath that was somewhere between a chuckle and a sigh.

Emmett huffed, and then hissed a fierce whisper. "Dude! You need to…. Untangle that shit."

I wanted to roll my eyes, but stayed very still. Edward squeezed me gently one last time before sliding his hand away and out from under my shirt. He pulled the hem of my shirt down to cover my exposed abdomen, and then rested his hand on my hip.

Edward's whisper was filled with irritation now, "Christ Emmett, relax. Nothing happened."

Emmett interrupted hastily, "No no no! No details! Seriously, you know I'm the captain of Team Edward and Bella, but this shit is going to take some getting used to. So, in the meantime, could you just…" he paused, followed by a soft whoosh of air, and fabric moving with some gesture he was making. "Just keep it above board, okay?"

Edward chuckled, shaking me, and my body responding instinctively, stretched and arched. As I pressed back against Edward, I felt his body stiffen as he took a swift intake of air. Emmett only growled at Edward's response.

When Emmett stepped away I was blinded again and flinched as the sun hit the back of my eyelids again. Almost immediately, I felt a rush of heat as Edward lifted the blanket up to shield us; our body heat escaping the cocoon. There was another zipping sound, though much quieter, and the blanket was lowered again, the bright sunlight gone again.

Edward whispered softly, "Thanks."

I snuggled back into his chest and sighed happily, my eyes never opening. Edward kissed the top of my head, probably aware by now that I was at least a little awake, He seemed content however, to snuggle up against me again and I relaxed once again into a half-sleep.

I was trying to tune out Rose and Emmett whispering in the kitchen, but when I heard a piece of their conversation it caught my attention.

"Why are you being such a dick to him?"

"I don't know. Yeah, he's my brother, and I trust him, but it might as well be Alice over there…"

Rose made a disgusted grunt, and Emmett laughed quietly. "Obviously, you know, if it weren't Edward. But Bells really is like a sister, and those two have been at each other's throats for so long. It's just weird to actually _see_ them together."

"You do realize don't you, that they don't need your permission?"

"No, they don't, but I'd give it to them anyway. Especially after this book thing."

_Book thing? What book thing?_

"But see, she always thought she hid it pretty well, but that girl has spent a lot of time crying over him. If this doesn't work out…"

_Oh God. Please let Edward have fallen asleep again. Please let him be sleeping._

"It will Em. I think that all of those times that those two spent fighting was like foreplay. They were too young and immature to deal with the intensity of the chemistry between them, but they're ready now. Besides, I know I give him a bunch of shit about being uptight, but he's a good guy. He'd never hurt her intentionally. You know this, right? And he seems so different now… loosened up."

I smiled to myself. Emmett's fierce protectiveness was a bit surprising, especially when it came to his own brother. But the fact that he knew that I'd ever cried over Edward, recently or in the distant past, was embarrassing, and I hoped, prayed, that Edward had fallen asleep.

I tried to figure out if he was sleeping or awake while I thought about their comments. Rosalie coming to Edward's defense was just as surprising. She could be a little abrasive, especially where Edward was concerned, so I'd always wondered if she even liked him.

Their attention turned to what they were making for breakfast, and I tried not to be irritated that they were planning on taking over the kitchen.

I must have drifted off again at some point because the next thing I knew, Garrett and Alice were coming through the door. They weren't nearly as quiet as Rose and Em had been, and I immediately stretched and yawned, knowing that continuing to doze and snuggle was going to be impossible. Edward must have had the same thought as he rolled over and onto his back.

I lifted my head as I rolled back, and Edward sneaked his arm out from under me. Apparently Garrett saw this as an opportunity, and the next thing I knew he had jumped on the bed and was wedging himself between us. He flopped onto his back with his arms crossed over his chest, and a huge goofy smile spread across his face. We were like three sardines all lined up on our backs on the queen-sized sofa bed.

Garrett turned to grin at Edward. "Morning!" Then he turned to me, "What's new?"

I turned my head to look at him and groaned, "Go away Garrett."

This time when I'd awoken I had a headache, a pretty bad one too. I threw an arm over my eyes to block out the light, hoping Garrett would go away.

"Aww, what's wrong Bella?" Did you not get enough sleep last night?"

Edward grumbled. "Knock it off Garrett. Don't mess with Bella before she's had coffee. She's cranky."

That sort of pissed me off. I hadn't even done anything.

"But inquiring minds want to know." Garrett said.

I felt the end of the sofa bed shift under someone's body weight and Alice piped in, "Yes, we sure as hell do."

I groaned and rolled out of the bed. I was not in the mood to wake up to a dozen questions before I'd even had coffee. I stretched my arms over my head and looked in the kitchen where Emmett and Rosalie had food spread out everywhere.

I caught Alice's eye as she was looking at Edward's t-shirt and boxers. She arched her eyebrows at me questioningly at the same time that Garrett chuckled. "Nice PJ's Bella."

That was all I could take this early in the morning and I rolled my eyes dramatically, shook my head and turned, heading for the stairs muttering "shut up" over my shoulder.

I needed a bathroom, some Motrin, a toothbrush and a shower, but I realized halfway up the stairs that my stuff was all still locked in the room with Tyler and Lauren.

I paused outside their door and banged on it twice with a fist. "Rise and shine. I need my shit."

My bladder was screaming at me by this point, so I couldn't even wait for a response before I kept moving down the hall to the bathroom and slammed the door.

I took care of business, and did another finger brushing, but it wasn't the same and my teeth still felt grimy. I was rinsing my face when there was a knock at the door.

"Just a sec." I mumbled into the towel.

Edward's voice could be heard through the door. "I brought you coffee."

I sighed, a little embarrassed by my mini temper tantrum.

I opened the door and gave him a sheepish smile as I reached out to take the mug. "Thanks. Sorry for being grumpy."

Our fingers touched as I took the mug from him. My heart fluttered from the contact and my eyes met his. I could tell from the sparkle in his eyes that he'd felt it too.

He reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear and smiled. "I know you need time to wake up in the morning. You heard me warn Garrett."

I took a sip to stall and enjoy the moment standing close to him and feeling the electric buzz between us. I moaned with the first sip of coffee. He licked his lips and his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. I was watching the muscles in his throat and his tongue running over his lips and could feel that tug between us and was thinking about leaning into him.

Garrett's loud laughter wafted up over the balcony and snapped me out of my trance. I blinked quickly and my eyes met Edward's.

He took a quick breath and his eyes lightened as the mood shifted quickly again.

I cleared my throat. "Um...You need in here? I'm all done."

He nodded. "Sure. I could use a shower."

"Okay, I'll go see if I can help with breakfast."

His mouth pulled up in a half-smile like he was amused by something. I couldn't understand what that would be and my brow furrowed in confusion. "What?"

He grinned for a second and then forced a neutral expression into place again before leaning in to give me a brief kiss. "Nothing."

He was trying hard to hide his amusement about something, but he failed when the corner of his mouth twitched again. I squinted at him. "No, seriously, tell me. What amuses you about me wanting to help with breakfast?"

"I just knew you wouldn't be able to leave Em and Rose to handle it."

I shrugged innocently. "I just want to be helpful."

_And it bugs the shit out of me that they are going to make a mess, and I'd planned a huge spread of cheese stuffed crepes with strawberry topping that everyone would have loved...._

He grinned in amusement. "Right. And it doesn't bother you at all."

I crossed my arms defensively, trying not to let him push my buttons. "Of course not. If they want to make breakfast, they can. It's not like I own this place."

He started laughing like he could hear my thoughts and knew I was lying. It annoyed me, but I couldn't help giving into the giggles too. I smacked his chest playfully. "Stop it! I mean it!"

He grabbed my hand and held it against his chest, carefully holding the cup of coffee away from me. "I'm just teasing. It's just cute how you're kind of possessive of that role."

My mouth fell open like I was offended, but I wasn't. I was stunned that he knew that about me. It _did _bug me when people tried to take over my kitchen. I just didn't think I outwardly showed it. I finally closed my mouth and frowned. "I am not."

He leaned in and kissed me. "You are too. But don't worry, I love your cooking. You can cook for me anytime."

"Not if you keep teasing me about it."

"I can't help it. You're cute when you're irritated."

"Oh! So that's why you've spent most our lives trying to annoy me to death."

"Guilty." He quirked his eyebrows and gave me this sexy crooked smile and I was flustered again.

I dropped my eyes and shook my head quickly to shake out of it. The rest of this weekend with all of these people was likely to be really interesting with this kind of sexual tension buzzing between us.

I stepped aside and let him in the bathroom. "Okay well, it's all yours."

He nodded, his eyes were playful, but I could tell that he felt it too. "Thanks."

He stepped into the bathroom with his coffee and I tried to shake it off as I made my way down to the kitchen. I realized halfway down the stairs that my headache was already almost gone. Maybe unresolved sexual tension works better than Motrin.

I made my way into the kitchen where Rose was scooping some batter into a muffin tin. Emmett was cutting some leftover bread into cubes for something. I frowned as I watched him, wondering what he would be using it for. "What are you guys making?"

Rose whipped around to face me. "Oh no. You're not allowed in here. We've got breakfast handled and you're not messing with it."

I held up my hands palms out defensively. "Jesus Rose! It was just a question."

"No it wasn't. You're a controlling kitchen Nazi and you were trying to figure out what we were fucking up so that you could fix it. Go away. We have everything under control, right Emmett?"

"Umm… yeah, this doesn't seem right Rose. Maybe Bella should look at the recipe. I've never heard of putting bread in..."

She reached over and smacked him on the back of the head. "Just follow it."

He winced in response and then muttered the line Rosalie wanted to hear. "We've got it under control Bella."

I eyed Emmett and his cubed bread skeptically. "Okay, whatever you say."

I took my coffee out to the living room and started stripping the sofa bed and folding it up. Alice gave me a hand and used the time to try and pry information from me about the previous night. I just repeated the phrase 'no comment' until she concluded on her own that we must have slept together last night. When she started to lecture about taking things slowly, I finally stopped her.

I sighed and rolled my eyes in frustration. "Look Alice, I don't want to share details with everyone here, that's the only reason I'm not talking. But we didn't do _that_. Okay?"

She frowned at me. "Fine. But do the sleeping arrangements at least mean that you guys are dating? Together? I mean, Jasper told me you were gone a long time..."

"The sleeping arrangements mean that I got locked out of my room last night, and Mike was passed out on the other couch."

"But you talked?"

Garrett was on his way back from refilling his coffee and heard Alice. He coughed a laugh. "Oh they definitely ...talked."

I shot him a dirty look and his eyes widened. "What? I've known E a long time, and I can tell when he's really interested in a… conversation."

Alice belted out a laugh and hopped up in the air. "So you're dating!? Oh yay! This is going to be so awesome!"

Jasper, Kate, and Jessica all walked in the door then and I decided I needed to end this conversation before Edward and I became the topic of conversation for everyone. I wasn't willing to take it on by myself, especially before Edward and I had a chance to talk about it. I shot her a look that said 'drop it' and tossed the sheets onto the sofa.

I decided I'd rather risk the wrath of Rosalie to avoid more public scrutiny. Rose eyed me suspiciously, but I re-filled my coffee first to set her at ease, and then passed the pot to Jessica when she and Jasper joined us in the kitchen. Using them as distraction I quietly collected a bunch of the fruit to start making a fruit salad. I figured if I could start chopping before she noticed me, then she'd likely not stop me. Unfortunately, when I went after a knife, Rose caught me.

**EDWARD**

When I came downstairs after my shower, everyone was gathered in the kitchen and dining room. Everyone, that is, except Mike who was probably still sleeping off the mother of all hangovers, and Tyler and Lauren, who were probably... well anyway, everyone else was there. I continued to scan the room until my eyes found what I was looking for- Bella. She was standing at the island in front of a pile of fruit, arguing with Rosalie. The second she was in my line of sight she looked up and we locked eyes.

Her eyes twinkled and the corners of her mouth pulled up.

Before Bella realized what was happening, Rosalie had grabbed the bananas and oranges. "I said I can handle it."

Bella finally realized the opening she'd left and batted Rosalie's hands away from the rest of the fruit she was still trying to defend. "You can't possibly handle all of it with just Emmett. A fruit salad is a lot of chopping, just let me help for Christ's sake!"

"No. You've done all the cooking this weekend. You need to sit down and let someone else have a turn."

Rosalie's head finally turned my way to see what had distracted Bella the first time and her eyes met mine. "Edward you can do it, right?"

Make a fruit salad? I can do that. I think. I gave a quick nod. "At your service."

I slid up behind Bella and put one hand on her shoulder while I eased the knife out of her hand with the other. I leaned down and kissed her cheek before whispering in her ear. "They want to thank you. Just sit down and relax please."

Rosalie returned back to the stove where she was cooking some sausage. "Yeah. Go take a shower or something."

Bella made a soft huffing sound. "I can't. My stuff is still being held hostage in the den of sin with Tyler and your cousin."

Rosalie turned back wide eyed. "Oh really?"

Bella nodded as she slid onto the bar stool next to me. "Yep. I got the do-not-disturb-scarf-on-the-door-signal last night. Edward you need to get a bowl."

I went after a bowl and started working on the fruit salad while Bella sat next to me and chatted with Rosalie. She'd pause in conversation to show me how to cut something and then sit back down. I followed Bella's instructions and chopped the fruit while Bella told Rosalie how Lauren had taken over her bedroom, and was currently holding all of her things hostage. I barely participated in the conversation, other than the few details that Bella asked me to confirm. Mostly, I just enjoyed listening to her talk.

When breakfast was ready I carried the fruit salad to the table and pulled out Bella's chair for her. Of course Garrett saw me and held up a fist, which he flicked in my direction when he made the sound of a whip cracking. Yeah, he was telling me I was whipped. I rolled my eyes, but couldn't stop the smirk, because yeah, I was. And I knew it.

Garrett and Kate took the seats across from us. I noticed that Kate was watching Bella intently, who seemed to be working to avoid her gaze, but eventually she couldn't. I pretended not to notice as Kate gave her a questioning look and Bella gave her one quick nod. Kate was apparently pleased with her answer, and smiled as Garrett passed her the fruit salad.

During a lull in the conversation Jasper turned in our direction. "So Bella, you up for the north trail today? It should be some pretty tough stuff."

Bella's face lit up. "You think we'll have time?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I looked at the map again; it looks like it'll be about three hours if we move along, four at the outside if we take our time. We don't have to head out until around three, so we should be good if we hurry."

I passed Bella the muffins as she shrugged and nodded at the same time. "Then yeah, count me in."

Kate was listening to Bella and Jasper. "Wait, the north trail? Is that the one that went up into the cliffs?"

I was holding the egg casserole while Bella served both of us and she kept her eyes on what she was doing while she answered Kate. "Yeah, the view should be awesome. Are you coming?"

Bella took the eggs to pass them along and I met her eyes. "You're going to climb up the cliffs?"

Bella nodded slowly, sensing my concern. "There's a good path, but yeah, there will be quite a bit of climbing involved."

Kate leaned forward to see past Tyler and Lauren, who had finally emerged to join us for breakfast. She looked at Jasper. "Do you have extra gear? I wouldn't try to take on those rocks free-climbing."

Jasper looked at Rose and Emmett. "Alice doesn't want to get dirty just in case she won't have time for a shower before we head back for dinner, so I've got enough for Bella. What about you guys?"

Emmett shook his head. "Nope, just our own. But I could probably try and free-climb if you want to use mine Kate."

Kate shook her head. "No way. This is not a trail you want to try without at least a safety harness. I'll hang back with these guys today."

It was like I was standing next to the tracks watching and waiting for a train wreck that I knew was coming but was powerless to stop it. I looked at Bella, and she just gave me a little smile. "You've done this before?"

She knew what I was thinking. "Don't' worry, it's not like real rock climbing where you do a straight vertical and rappel down. It's still mostly hiking, but we'll use some gear and ropes for safety."

While I sat there trying to process the level of risk she was exposing herself to, I watched as she started to prepare her plate. She'd carefully laid out each helping. When I was serving the fruit salad, I offered her some and watched as she rotated her plate around so that I could put it in the perfect place. Apparently fruit salad could touch bacon, but not eggs.

I finally decided that she didn't need my permission if she wanted to do this and I would just need to suck it up and hope she was careful, no matter how I felt about it. I finally picked up my fork and started eating.

As Bella ate, she'd sample each dish and then reach for whatever condiment she wanted to improve or season it to her liking. When she was finished putting pepper on her eggs she handed it to me and whispered. "Eggs."

I followed her instructions and, while I hadn't noticed that they needed the extra pepper, they were much better with it. Without thinking I took the bottle of ketchup that she handed me for my hash browns, used it, and then passed it to Jessica.

She reached for a white dressing that she'd made earlier and drizzled it over her fruit salad, then she turned to my plate and did the same for mine. I realized I wasn't annoyed that she'd done it while I would have been if it had been anyone else. When she was done I speared a piece of apple and orange with my fork and tasted it with the dressing. It was a sweet, creamy, and slightly tangy sauce that was awesome with the fruit.

I looked at Bella in awe and mumbled. "Wow; what is that?"

She smiled. "It's a Waldorf dressing."

I mumbled again. "That's really good." And scooped up another bite.

When I looked up from my plate I caught Garrett watching me with his fork frozen halfway between his plate and his open mouth. His eyes shifted between me and Bella and he started shaking in laughter. "Hey Desi, how's your breakfast? Lucy fix it up real nice for ya?" He did a perfect voice of their landlord, Fred Mertz.

I laughed and glanced at Bella, who blushed and giggled, but otherwise ignored him. I hoped she wasn't embarrassed and I reached under her hair to rub her neck and leaned over to whisper in her ear. "It's perfect, thank you."

She, of course, blushed more, but nodded. "You're welcome."

Garrett stifled a small cough. "Is it going to be the death of you E?"

My head snapped up and I was about to lay into him, but Garrett suddenly jumped and shouted. "Ow! Shit Kate! Are you wearing your steel toes?"

I glanced at Kate, but she was looking at Bella and mouthed 'sorry'.

Then she looked at Garrett and hissed quietly. "I thought you said you were going to drop it."

Garrett set his fork down and reached under the table to rub his injured leg. "Okay, okay, consider it dropped. Damn."

I glanced at Bella to apologize but she was biting the corner of her lip to keep herself from laughing. She just shook her head and rolled her eyes.

When we were finished Bella wanted to help with the clean up since she hadn't cooked, but I shooed her away to finally get a shower now that she could get to her things. If she insisted on going on this hike, then I wanted to make sure they had as much time as possible. I had to run her off three times and finally started snapping a dishtowel at her and threatened to get her in the ass if she set foot past the island again. She ran away yelping and giggling at the same time.

I was laughing when I turned back to the kitchen to meet the eyes of Alice, Jasper and Kate.

I stopped and threw my hands up in the air. "What? Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Jasper went back to washing dishes. Kate continued drying the casserole dish but was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Alice, well I'm not sure what Alice had been doing, but now she was standing next to the island clapping her hands softly with a big grin on her face.

I laughed. "Knock it off Alice or I'll get you too." I snapped the towel at her, making a loud cracking sound and she finally stopped bouncing.

"Edward stop!" She squealed and ran to the other side of the island. "Come on. Obviously something happened last night, just tell me a little, _please_."

I walked up to the island and laid my hands flat on the top of the countertop and leaned forward onto it. "Well, let's see. You guys saw her get pissed and storm off. Then I followed her."

Alice and Kate both nodded eagerly. Jasper even stopped washing so that he could listen.

"So we walked for a while, then we fought, then we talked, then it rained and then we came back."

Alice exhaled a deep breath and rolled her eyes. "Great thanks. You're so much more informative than Bella."

I frowned. "Alice, seriously, it's nobody's business."

"Well are you guys like a couple now?"

"I don't know."

"But you did kiss, right?"

"No comment."

"You were gone a long time, you must have made out. Was it awesome?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny the awesomeness of any making out that either did or did not happen."

Alice squinted at me. "But you slept together."

I started to interrupt her and clarify any misconceptions, but Alice quickly held up a hand to stop me. "Yeah, yeah, Tyler and Lauren locked her out, yada yada.... you didn't actually _sleep together. _Don't worry, she already clarified that little detail. What I mean is that your little trip into the woods must have gone pretty well for you guys to be willing to sleep in the same bed like that. So..."

I laughed. "So nothing. Seriously Alice, just drop it. Okay?"

She crossed her arms over her chest in irritation and frowned at me. "Fine. For now. But I'm going to get the dirt out of one of you eventually."

"No you won't. You aren't going to go pestering her about this. Okay?"

"I make no promises."

I snapped the towel at her again and made her jump. "Alice!"

"Fine!" She stuck her tongue out at me and then turned and stormed out the side door like the spoiled ten year old child that was still tucked away inside. Alice could be a bit of a control freak and at times like this she could go a little bit crazy.

About a half-hour later the first group was getting ready to head out and I was freaking out a little. Bella and I had finally broken through all of the barriers between us and all I wanted to do was wrap her in my arms and kiss her until she couldn't see straight. But my Bella wasn't having it. No, she wanted to go climb dangerous cliff trails.

I suggested that maybe I'd go with them, but Jasper laughed at the idea that I try this trail with a pair of running shoes. That hadn't eased my anxiety.

Bella was sitting on one of the chaise lounge chairs on the porch while she laced up her hiking boots. She was beautiful in a red tank top and a pair of khaki shorts with about a dozen pockets that I'd watched her stuff with band aids, sunscreen, a pair of leather gloves, a Swiss army knife or something similar to it, and hook a belay lock on one of her belt loops. Besides the fact that she had clearly done this before, none of it made me feel any better.

I sat down on the chaise next to her. "Let me see your hand."

She turned her head to look at me and then held out her left hand.

"The other one, I want to see how it's healing."

She smirked but held out her hand. "It's fine Edward. I'm fine. I've done this before you know. It's not a big deal."

"I'm sure you have, but not when you've left me behind to worry about you. And while it is healing pretty well, the tissue is still fresh and tender. It wouldn't take a lot to break it open."

She grinned and held up a roll of white tape that I hadn't seen next to her. "I know. That's why I'm going to tape it. You're cute when you worry, you know that?"

I sighed. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Give me the tape."

She pursed her lips. "I can do it."

I rolled my eyes and reached out and grabbed the tape and started peeling a piece back. "I know you _can, _but I want to. If you insist on doing this, then at least give me some peace of mind knowing that you're as protected as I can possibly make you without actually being there."

When her hand was well taped up, including around her thumb I tore the tape with my teeth and smoothed it in place. Then I turned her hand over and kissed the palm where I'd covered her mostly healed cut. "I guess that's that."

She smiled and leaned into my shoulder. "Thank you."

Just then Jasper walked around the corner holding Alice's hand, followed by Rosalie and Emmett. He slowed when he saw us. "There you are. You ready?"

Bella stood up and gave a quick nod. "Yep. All set."

I caught Jasper's eye and he gave me a subtle nod, but I had to say it to all of them. "You guys be careful, okay? Bring her back in one piece."

I desperately wanted to reach out and grab her hand, making her stay with me, but I reached up and grabbed a handful of hair in the back of my head to stop myself.

Rose was biting the inside of her lips, probably amused by my anxiety.

Emmett and Rose started down the steps, followed by Jasper, but when Bella stepped away from me to follow them I reached out and grabbed her hand.

She looked back at me with wide surprised eyes and I acted out of instinct. Without thinking about all the eyes on us I leaned down and kissed her. It wasn't a quick peck on the cheek either. It was a firm kiss on the lips that made sure to convey how much I really needed her to be careful and come back uninjured.

When I finally released her, her cheeks were flushed, and her hand came up so that her fingertips touched her lips.

I whispered. "Be careful, okay?"

She nodded and grinned before she dropped her gaze to the steps and ran down them and jogged after Emmett, Rose, and Jasper. They had stopped in the middle of the yard to wait, and Rosalie and Jasper had obviously seen the kiss, Emmett was staring straight ahead.

I watched them cross the yard and just before she disappeared into the trees she turned back to me and gave one quick wave. I smiled and waved back before she walked into the woods.

When I turned back towards the cottage, Alice was standing behind me looking like she was about to explode. Instead she squealed and threw herself at me for a fierce hug. "Ha! I knew it!"

* * *

**A/N**

**Here is where we apologize for that way-too-long hiatus. If you only knew what we've both been through, you'd understand.**

**Updates should be back on track now, but at this point we're hoping to update every two weeks. Sometimes we'll be able to stick to that, and other times we may be able to post weekly. Real Life continues to be a bit up in the air, so at times, we might have to slow down to deal with it. We'll just have to see. But whatever happens, please be as patient as you have been and we promise to finish this thing.**

**Thanks so much for sticking out the hiatus. Thanks for the PMs and inquiries, not only on the status of Proxy, but also for asking if we were okay. And as always, thank you for reading, and for your favorites and alerts. **

**S32 & TG**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N**

**Love and thanks to the following people:**

**For Aruni, who offers her wisdom. For our Red Pen Goddesses: Maylin, AzureEyed1, and Genny910 for always finding time to make the words look pretty. And to the always supportive inhabitants of UUtopia.**

**Song for Chapter 13:**

"**Wishlist" – Pearl Jam**

**Another long wait… we know. Real life continues to be a priority, so we appreciate your understanding and patience. With that said, we think this update is worth the wait. See you at the bottom.**

**Rated M for language and possible future, well, you know. If you're not old enough to buy mature rated materials, you shouldn't be reading this (and your parents should install Net Nanny.)**

**Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight, ****obviously.**

**Edward**

I laughed and hugged Alice back. "You just know it, huh?"

She unwrapped her arms from my waist and reached for the door handle. "Yep. I feel really good about this. I really do."

"Well good, so do I. Any idea what the plan is?"

"Some people are still getting ready, so I think it'll be a little while yet."

We relaxed on the chaise lounges and chatted about her plans to move in with Jasper, then she tried to get more details out of me about the night before. I told her that I was hoping to take Bella out on an actual date in the next few days, and she got really excited and recommended a few nice restaurants.

Eventually Garrett, Kate, and Tyler joined us. Tyler sat down on the steps. "Mike and Jess should be out soon enough. Lauren decided to come too."

He looked a little annoyed, and I stifled a laugh; then I began to look around for my shoes. I'd left them outside the night before since they were damp from our run through the rain. Garrett was sitting in an armchair by the door, and I caught his eye. "Hey G, can you hand me my shoes. I left them over there by the door last night."

He looked all around where he sat on the deck but shook his head. "I don't see them dude. Not over here."

I stood up and walked around the end of Alice's lounge chair. "Well, I know I left them right outside the door last night."

Sure enough they were nowhere to be found. Garrett got up to help me look for them and eventually so did Alice and Kate.

"Uh oh." I looked over to see Kate leaning over the porch railing looking down into the bushes next to the porch. "Found 'em."

I walked over to stand next to her and looked down. Sure enough, there were my shoes, clearly soaking wet and covered in mud. They'd obviously been blown off the deck by the heavy winds in the storm the night before and had fallen into the bushes, directly under the overhang of the roof where rain washed over them all night long.

Garrett walked up next to us and looked down before he started to chuckle. "Dude they're soaked."

I walked down the stairs and climbed through the bushes to dig my shoes out of the wet weeds and mud.

I picked one up and tipped it over. "Ya think?" A trickle of water poured out of the heel of the shoe. "I think I'm going to have to bail on the hike today, folks. These are the only other shoes I brought." I pointed at the black sports sandals I was wearing; they weren't really conducive to hiking.

Alice gave me a sympathetic look. "Want me hang out with you? We could play a game or something."

I shook my head, "No. It's a beautiful day; you guys go and enjoy."

"You sure?"

I nodded. "Yep. I'm good. Not to worry."

I wished them all a good hike and headed inside for my iPod and a beach towel. Then I dragged a lounge chair down by the water, stretched out, and listened to some music.

I thought about Bella and our night together. For the first time, in a long time, I was looking forward to the direction of my future. I still had a lot of decisions to make, like where I was going to be living next, but at least I felt like I was moving in the right direction.

It didn't seem like much time had passed at all, but I must have dozed off at some point because a cool hand on my sun-heated shoulder woke me with a start. I jumped and my head snapped up from where I'd let it rest on the back of the chair.

Bella was smiling down at me. "Hey sleepyhead."

"Hey!" My voice was thick with sleep, and I cleared my throat. "What are you doing back already?"

Her nose crinkled up and she frowned. "I had to come back early."

"Uh oh. What happened?"

Her frowned deepened, and she held up a scraped knee for me to see. I hissed and sat up, swinging my legs to either side of the lounge chair so she could sit in front of me, and I held out my hand to her. "Oh honey, come here and let me see."

She sat down, and I pulled her leg up along my side with her knee right in front of me. The scrapes weren't bad, but it was pretty dirty. "Does it hurt much?"

"No. I wanted to keep going but Jasper made me come back."

"Well I'm glad he did, even if it was for a minor injury. At least I get to spend some more time with you." I leaned forward and kissed her lips.

She giggled, "Yeah I know, that's the only reason I didn't put up more of an argument."

"Oh really? Well then come here." I wrapped one arm around her waist and the other under her thigh. I pulled her forward while I slid myself closer to her at the same time so that her legs could wrap around my waist. She squealed and laughed as she met me for a kiss.

Kissing her was one of the most amazing experiences. She was soft and reciprocating. When I moved in, she was open to me, and when I pulled back, she'd move with me again. It wasn't long before my hands were moving like they had a mind of their own, up her thighs and over her hips to her sides. I had just enough presence of mind to realize that if she tried to straddle me she'd be rubbing her sore knee into the cushion, so I leaned forward and tried to lay her backwards. She resisted just a little and pulled her mouth from mine, "Jasper."

I pulled back and stared at her in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"He came back with me. He's getting some things from the house."

"Oh," I kissed her again, chastely. "Damn."

She chuckled. "You thought we were alone."

"I did."

"And what exactly did you have in mind, Edward?"

I grinned wickedly and wiggled my eyebrows. "You'll have to wait and see."

She cocked her head to the side. "Wait for when?"

We heard a door behind us, and she glanced up toward the house. I lifted her off me and turned her sideways on the chair. "Well, how about we rent a movie tonight. Just you and me?"

She grinned. "Your place or mine?"

I licked my lips. "Careful how you phrase that. With our current living arrangements, one could presume you were referring to which bedroom."

She smacked my chest playfully. "You wish."

Her gaze shifted to over my shoulder as Jasper approached.

I heard his footsteps just before his voice. "Okay, I got a bag of ice, a bottle of water and I found your first aid kit, Edward. Anything else you need?"

"Uh, no that should do it." I was surprised that he'd brought back so much stuff for a minor abrasion, and it made me wonder if there was more to this story than a little scraped knee.

She sighed, "It's not that bad. Like I said, I was going to put a band-aid on it and keep going, but Jasper made me come back."

I glanced at Jasper, and he nodded. "I know it isn't, but you went down hard. I thought maybe you should ice it."

I reached out for her calf again and pulled her knee over so I could look for any other more serious signs of injury or swelling. "Let me see this."

I looked up and saw Bella roll her eyes, then I looked at Jasper and he caught my eye. His mouth was pulled back in a tight look of concern. Yeah, there was definitely more to this story then she was telling me.

I cleared my throat. "Well lets get this cleaned up. And if you went down on your knee it couldn't hurt to ice it for a bit just in case."

She looked annoyed. "Seriously? It's not that bad!"

I was leaning over her knee and raised my eyes to give her a small smile that I'd known to be charming and effective on women in the past. "Just humor me? Please?"

She scowled at me but finally rolled her eyes until she was looking off at the water. She muttered a soft, "Fine."

I cleaned up her knee quickly and put a bandage on it. "Here, sit back and relax. Hey Jasper, want to help me bring down a couple more chairs and some drinks while we wait for everyone to get back?"

He'd been standing down by the water tossing rocks, and I hoped that I could get a little more information from him about what happened. He strolled in our direction. "Sure."

I gave her a quick kiss and told her we'd be back in a few. She nodded, leaned her head back, and closed her eyes, tipping her face up into the sun.

I waited until we were out of earshot before I glanced at him. "So what happened?"

He looked back over his shoulder at Bella, and his eyebrows pulled together in a thoughtful expression. "I don't know. It really wasn't that big a deal, I just got nervous with her out there."

"Why? Was it that difficult?"

He shook his head. "No, not any harder than some of the trails we've hiked before. She's really good at it actually. She was already a pretty active trail runner when Alice and I started dating, and then we went out on a couple of climbs, and she's a natural. She's way better than Alice and seems to like it more, too. It became our thing--our common ground."

I nodded. I didn't really know this side of Bella, but it didn't surprise me. I remembered how much she loved running the woods back in Forks.

After a couple of minutes Jasper continued, "Well we haven't been out on a good hike in a couple of months, so I wasn't surprised that it might take a few minutes to get her rhythm, but something was just off."

We'd reached the cottage, and I followed him inside. "Like what?"

He scratched his head while he thought about it. "She seemed sort of unsteady on her feet. And, I hate to say, maybe a little out of shape? She got winded quickly."

I nodded slowly. "Okay, you said its been a couple of months and she hasn't been feeling well, so that's not surprising."

"Yeah, but that's not all. You see, when you're climbing like that you always need to be looking ahead. You gotta know what your next steps are going to be and where you're reaching. Sometimes you can't go straight up, you have to move to the side to get to the next landing. It's something I've never had to explain to her--she just got it. But today, she seemed to have tunnel vision, like she could only see what was right in front of her."

I was trying to understand what he was saying, but it was hard to follow.

He shook his head. "At one point I was above her, and I dropped the rope down to her so she could pull herself up. Only there was a big rock formation over her, so it fell off to her left. She was looking right up at me, but she never saw the rope fall beside her. She just kept looking right at me, like she was still waiting for it. When I pointed it out to her, she just laughed it off. But it was weird, dude. I don't know, I just got nervous, and then when she tripped, I was relieved because we were just about to start the really tough part, and I wasn't feeling good about it at all."

I nodded. "Well I'm glad you got her to come back. I never liked the idea to begin with."

Jasper grinned. "Yeah, I kind of got that. But honestly, I never would have taken her out there if I didn't think she could handle it. Normally she would have climbed those trails like a monkey. I don't know what was going on with her, but she looked like a first-timer out there."

I shrugged. "Okay, well at least you got her back in one piece, mostly. Let's get those drinks and go relax for a while. My guess is that she's still dealing with residual effects from the sinus infection. If it was as bad as I imagine, it might need a stronger antibiotic, and if she still has fluid in her ears, the pressure from flying could cause some vertigo. Maybe that's all it is."

Jasper nodded. "Yeah, you're the doctor. I guess that makes sense."

We collected the drinks and chairs and walked back down to join Bella. We hung out and chatted while we waited for everyone else to come back. I never told her what Jasper had shared with me, and as the afternoon passed by I kept an eye on her. It wasn't hard since I found myself drawn to her, whatever we were doing. When we ate lunch, we sat together. When we packed up to leave, I carried her bags. In the van and when we were boarding our plane back to Seattle, she was right there next to me.

# # #

**BELLA**

There had been one rule about this weekend: No cell phones. Everyone shut off their phones when we left Seattle and couldn't turn them back on until we returned. It was Rosalie's rule, and everyone was pretty good about it. Except Alice.

She'd commented several times about how much her clients would freak out of they couldn't reach her, and I know for a fact that she'd cheated at least once on Saturday. And the second the wheels touched down I heard the beeping sound of several phones being powered up. I dug mine out of my purse and flipped it on too. Pretty much everyone who would call me was with us anyway, except, of course, Charlie, Brady, and Alec. I fully expected that Alec might have called, but I wanted to make sure I hadn't missed anything else important.

Edward groaned next to me, "You too?"

I grinned and shrugged. "Sorry. Technology addict like the rest of them."

My phone chimed, and I glanced down in time to see the screen flash '3 Voicemails.'

"Brady would call you on a weekend? I know your job is a little different, but it seems like he'd be more of a Monday through Friday type of guy."

"Yeah, he usually is." I nodded and flipped through the menu to 'missed calls.' If anyone other than Alec had called, then I'd take the time to listen to the voicemails, but otherwise I wouldn't even bother. Alec and I would be having a chat soon enough, but I didn't need to put Edward through that right now.

Sure enough the list of missed calls was full of only one name: Alec.

I heard Edward exhale a breath and glanced up to see him clenching his jaw and eyeing my phone. Oops. I wasn't trying to hide anything and hadn't really thought about how it would make him feel to see that.

He quickly averted his gaze to look out the window, and I snapped the phone shut and dropped it back in my purse.

He glanced back at me, and his eyes flicked to my purse. "Aren't you going to listen to the voicemails?"

I couldn't meet his eyes and just shook my head and tried to act casual. "Not right now."

His tone turned hard. "You mean not with me sitting here?"

Trying not to get irritated, I sighed and reached out to squeeze his hand. I waited until his eyes met mine. "I will if you want me too."

He looked at me for a minute before he closed his eyes slowly. His hand ran through his hair, and he tugged at it in frustration while he took a breath. When he opened his eyes, they had turned soft again. "Sorry. No. You handle things with him however you need to. I trust you even if I don't trust him."

"You sure?"

He nodded. "I'm sure."

Then he let go of my hand, stretched his arm over my shoulders, and pulled me against him before he leaned down to kiss the top of my head. It was his little affectionate gesture.

**# # #**

We piled out of the plane and headed to the parking lot. Tyler, Mike, and Jessica had all been dropped off in Port Angeles.

Lauren made a high-pitched squealing sound and said a hasty goodbye to all of us before she ran toward a red sportscar parked by the curb. There was a guy leaning against it and she ran up and threw herself into his arms. They kissed passionately for several seconds until he set her down and she climbed into the passenger seat.

We all stood there and watched it play out. As the car drove away Lauren waved happily out the window without a care in the world.

I looked at Rosalie. "Who the hell was that?"

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "That was Max. Max is her on-again, off-again boyfriend who treats her like shit but she can't get over. Apparently they're on again."

I arched my eyebrows. "And what about Tyler?"

Rose shook her head slowly. "I guarantee you Tyler was forgotten the second she saw Max standing there."

"You don't like Max, do you?"

"Nope. Max was Royce's friend ... and dealer."

"Does Lauren ...?"

Rosalie nodded. "Yeah, there's a reason Lauren can't get over Max."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry Rose. That has to be hard to watch."

She nodded. "Yeah, it is, but I learned a long time ago that you can't make choices for another person. She gets to choose how to live her life and, when the time comes, what's worth living for."

We kept walking to the cars when I froze with another thought. "Rose! What about Tyler? Could he have exposed himself to something?"

Rosalie shook her head. "Nah. I gave him the heads up and made sure he'd protect himself. Besides, she's only into coke so far. And, believe it or not, Max doesn't use; he just feeds other people's addictions."

**# # #**

As we were walking to the cars, Alice called Carlisle and Esme to let them know that we were on the ground. We were meeting them for dinner, and they were waiting to hear from us before they headed out.

We rode with Garrett and Kate to the restaurant. They had chosen a casual steakhouse restaurant since we were coming straight off the plane. By the time we arrived Carlisle and Esme were already waiting outside the front doors for us.

Edward pulled the car into a space and turned to me. "You ready for this?"

I was taking one last glance in the vanity mirror and flipped it up to look at him. "For what, dinner? Yeah, I'm starving."

He playfully smirked at me. "You know what I mean. My parents. They'll be surprised."

Garrett interrupted with a laugh, "Surprised? Dude they were afraid you guys were going to kill each other. When they find out you guys are planning on bumping uglies ..."

Edward's head whipped toward him. "Hixon, I swear to God if you use that phrase one more time they will have to medevac you back to Chicago."

Garrett had thrown his door open but paused before climbing out to listen to Edward's warning. "Oh sorry. Do you think your folks would prefer shagging? Snogging? A little pickle tickle? Doing the bump and grind? Hide the salami?"

Edward spun in his seat and tried to punch Garrett, but he was too quick and escaped out the door.

Edward turned back and stared out the windshield as he slowly shook his head and clenched his hands into fists. I watched him as he struggled with his irritation before I broke down into hysterics. "He really hasn't changed a bit has he? He's like a perpetually obnoxious seventeen-year-old."

He turned to me and began to chuckle as well. "You have no idea."

We could hear Garrett as he made his way across the parking lot. "Dr. C! Mrs. C! Wait until you hear what went down this weekend."

We exchanged matching looks of horror and both hissed, "Oh shit," before we hastily climbed out of the car and started after Garrett.

When I walked around the car, Edward was waiting with his hand held out for me. I glanced at it for a second, suddenly nervous. Edward sensed my hesitation, and I saw the flicker of doubt in his eyes before I smiled and reached out to take his hand firmly.

Garrett was talking animatedly as he hugged Esme and shook Carlisle's hand. They listened with attentive expressions and periodic glances in our direction as we made our approach.

"... We were just about to send out a search party when they finally drag their asses, pardon my French Esme, back to the cottage like a couple of drowned rats."

When we were within earshot, Edward cleared his throat in a very deliberate manner, and Garrett finally stopped talking. Everyone's gaze fell on Edward and me. Carlisle was wearing a polite, yet amused smile, but Esme was lit up like a Christmas tree. She was clasping her hands in front of her and nearly bouncing in a very Alice-like way.

Carlisle finally broke into a wide grin. "Edward, Bella, so you two are getting along okay, I take it?"

Edward chuckled. "No casualties so far, right Bella?"

I resisted the urge to hide behind him and escape the spotlight of Esme's stare, but I shook my head. "A few near misses, but nothing too serious."

Esme hugged us both and whispered quietly in my ear, "Its about damn time, my dear."

I gave her a questioning look, but she just grinned at me. Everyone else was joining us at this point so--thank goodness--she dropped it.

We all made our way inside and were quickly shown to our table. Edward only let go of my hand when he pulled out my chair for me. He took the one next to me, and everyone else spread out.

Throughout dinner, conversation ranged over topics like the weekend, the volleyball tournament, Lauren, the hiking, and the upcoming wedding.

Esme was sitting across from Edward, and I noticed that she was watching us intently. She had the same knowing twinkle that I frequently saw in Edward's eyes when he was amused, and Esme was indeed amused. When he casually reached over and rested one of his hands on my thigh, she saw it and met my eyes. I felt like my face was going to burst into flames and dropped my eyes to my plate.

I heard Esme clear her throat to begin speaking, and my flight instinct kicked in. But instead of the third degree that I'd been expecting, she turned toward the other end of the table. "So Garrett, Kate, what is your plan between now and the wedding? I hear you have quite the sight-seeing tour lined up."

I slowly exhaled and finally looked up. Kate was answering Esme, who was listening intently. She glanced my direction only once, and her small smile told me to relax. There would be no Spanish Inquisition in my immediate future.

Kate had been telling them where they were planning on visiting on the west coast; then she mentioned their departure plans. "We were going to leave tomorrow, but Garrett has to get fitted for his tux, and if we can make it all the way to Sacramento by the time we have to stop, we'll save on a night in a hotel. So, if it's alright with Alice, we were hoping to head out early Tuesday instead."

Alice never had a chance to answer her because Emmett's voice boomed from the end of the table, "Sweet! Rosie, think I could have the guys over tonight? It's time to resurrect the tripod. That includes you now too Jasper."

I snorted, "A tripod? Wouldn't that make it more like a table?"

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. And, no actually, they do make a four-legged tripod, but that's really not the point. How about us guys do our thing tonight, and you girls go paint your toenails or whatever."

Alice gasped. "Yes! _Twi-_ um, a really good movie just came out on DVD. We can rent it and have a girls night."

I groaned. Alice had been trying to get me to read a series of books that were basically a bored housewife's wet dream. Apparently, they were a must-read and were so good that the world would stop if I read them. It was one of the only times that I saw Alice blow off work. Now the novels were being made into a series of movies, but I had been boycotting both on principle. I went to college and worked my butt off to become a poorly paid romance author of a one-hit wonder and several stacks of false starts. I couldn't find it in me to pay homage to a housewife who'd stumbled into the kind of success that I could only fantasize about.

I looked at Edward and rolled my eyes, mouthing "Help me."

He turned back to Emmett and gave it his best attempt. "Emm, Bella and I sort of had plans for tonight. I don't think we're ..."

Garrett interrupted him, "No. No no no no. Listen, Romeo, I get that you're all in this I-just-pulled-my-head-out-of-my-ass-and-got-the-girl zone, but you just moved here. I'm leaving in two days and won't be back until just before the wedding. While I'm gone, you two can do all the cute couply bullshit you want. But for now? You owe me two days." He held up two fingers and gave him a very stern, for Garrett, look. "Two," he repeated.

There were low snickers and giggles around the table, and Edward sighed in defeat. He looked at me and I shrugged, because how can you argue with that?

He turned back to Garrett. "Fine, okay, I'm in."

Dinner was finished over small talk about the specifics of the evening. It sounded like the guys were planning an evening of pool and poker. Rosalie backed me up, and we finally talked Alice into _T__he Reader_ instead. When dinner was over, we all said our goodbyes to Carlisle and Esme and headed home to unpack, promising to regroup in ninety minutes.

An hour later I was in my room unpacking my duffel bag when there was a light knock on the door. "Come in," I called over my shoulder.

I heard the door open, and then a pair of warm arms wrapped around my waist. He dropped his head to nuzzle his face in my hair and neck. "Hey."

I sighed and leaned back into him. "Hey."

"Sorry about tonight. I was looking forward to it."

"Yeah, me too. But Garrett's right. He's only here for two days."

"I know. So how about we reschedule for Tuesday? And I can do better than a movie and popcorn on the sofa; how about dinner out and then maybe a movie?"

I turned in his arms to face him. "Like a real date?"

He lowered his face to kiss me once. "Yes. I made an appointment to look at a house on Tuesday afternoon, and I was hoping you'd come with me." Kiss. "We can go out afterwards." Kiss.

I pulled back to see his face and reached up to brush a strand of hair off his forehead before I kissed him again, then I smiled and mumbled against his mouth, "I'd like that."

His weight shifted as he kicked the door behind him; it closed with a gentle thud and click. With his hands on my hips, he started walking me backwards toward the bed. When the backs of my legs hit the bed, he wrapped an arm around me, leaning me backwards, supporting my weight with an arm around my waist, before he lowered himself over me. I pulled him down, anxious to feel the weight of his body on top of me. I hooked a leg over his hip and moaned quietly as I enjoyed being covered with his body.

And then we both froze as we heard the distant sound of quick feet moving up the stairs and Alice shouting, "No, no, no. Edward Anthony Cullen! You get out of there! You guys are leaving."

She started pounding on the door, and Edward groaned and dropped his face to my shoulder. I sighed and started running my hands up and down his back.

I shouted back at the door, "Go away Alice!"

"No. It's girl's night tonight. You have to the count of ten and then I'm opening this door and dragging him off you! One!"

Edward rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Somehow, I'm not worried."

Alice continued, "Two ... three! Garrett, come help me. Edward's in Bella's room and he won't come out."

He muttered, "Shit."

"Four!"

We could hear another set of heavier feet on the stairs.

Edward leaned up and whispered to me, "Rain check?"

"Of course." I kissed him quickly as I unwrapped my leg and pushed against his chest as we heard Alice talking to Garrett.

"I said I'm going in on ten and pulling him off her. Five!"

He rolled off me and sat up on the side of the bed.

"Six!" Garrett and Alice counted together.

He was muttering a series of curse words mixed with Garrett's name as he hoisted himself upright.

"Seven!"

Edward gave me one last longing look.

"Eight!" It was just Garrett now, "Better put it away. I'm coming in!"

His shoulders slumped and he reached up and tousled his hair as he exhaled a deep breath.

"Nine!" The doorknob started to turn.

Edward reached out and grabbed the knob, flinging the door open. "Fine, Fucker, let's go."

He glanced back and winked and then walked out. I heard Alice call after them, "Bye guys! Have fun!"

Edward muttered a thank you and goodbye back to her, but his annoyance was clear in his voice.

Alice appeared in the doorway. "Kate and I are watching _Family Guy_. Rosalie is picking up the movie and drinks. We're thinking margaritas. Sound good?"

I stretched my arms up over my head and yawned. "Yeah, sure. That's fine."

Alice tilted her head and looked at me appraisingly. "You look wiped."

I nodded. "Yeah, I am."

She smiled gently. "Why don't you go take a bath and try and relax? We'll let you know when Rose gets here. You know Edward will be coming back eventually; go make yourself smell pretty."

I sat up and swung my legs off the side of the bed. "That sounds like a very good idea. I think I'll do that."

# # #

Five minutes later the smell of lavender filled the bathroom, and I was piling my hair up onto my head as the tub filled with hot water. I blew up the bath pillow and thought about how much I would miss the oversized tub when I moved. I had gotten some of my best ideas as I'd soak, mulling over different scenarios. I'd talk to myself in the shower and work through problematic dialogue.

All the scenes and storylines I'd dreamed up in this bath always revolved in my mind around one person: Edward. Sure, I'd turn them around and strip down the characters, changing names and physical attributes until I was sure that my characters were unrecognizable, but in my mind it was always him.

Tonight I relaxed and enjoyed the fact that these thoughts were just for me. There would be no manipulation or disguising the images running through my head. Those green eyes would stay green; the hair would stay thick and auburn. His hands would only be on my body, and those whispered words were for an audience of one.

I closed my eyes and smiled to myself as I realized how false my imagination had been. My books had always been about his needs, his desires, and the possessive ways that he would touch her. My female characters always responded passionately, but it was wrong. I never grasped the depth and intensity of it. I couldn't write how her body craved him, how his touch would scorch her, and her bones would ache with the need to wrap around him. I couldn't have written it, because I'd never felt it.

My writing had only been based on what I'd fantasized, and while my fantasies were certainly more creative than any actual sexual encounters I'd had, they were still based on my experiences. And those experiences now seemed bland, calculated, and programmed. Yes, I'd responded and yes it had usually been mildly satisfying, but the very best sex I'd ever had paled in comparison to just one of Edward's kisses.

With Edward my body responded of its own accord. He caused sensations in me that I'd never experienced with an intensity that I'd never dreamed. His hands touched me in ways that I hadn't been prepared for, as though he could feel my needs through my skin, as though the magnetic pull that kept tugging at us when we were apart would intensify when we were together, drawing his hands to wherever I needed them most. We fed off one another in the most beautiful of ways.

As I soaked and remembered his touches, my hands ran absentmindedly over my skin. I shaved my legs and remembered how he'd pulled them around him when he'd pressed me against that tree. I thought about how gently he'd cleaned up my wounded knee that morning. I soaped up my loofah and ran it over my arms, remembering the feel of his shoulders and the lean muscles of his back moving under my fingers. As I washed my shoulders, back, and neck, I felt his open mouth kisses and the way he'd gently suck and lick at my skin. I ran the sponge over the skin of my torso and up to the underside of my breast.

I froze.

With a gasp I let go of the sponge and ran my fingers over the tissue under my breast.

I quickly pulled myself up to a sitting position and reached my left hand behind my head while I used my right to probe at the tissue on the underside of my breast.

There was something there.

I flattened my hand and started rubbing small circles with the pads of my fingers.

A sharp knock on the door made me yelp. Water splashed on the floor as I jerked in surprise.

"Bellllaaaa?" Alice called through the door in a sing-song voice.

I cleared my throat. "Yeah?"

My voice sounded thick.

"Rosalie is here. We're going to start the movie." I heard the buzzing sound of a blender in the background.

I was staring at the far wall of the tub, barely hearing a word she'd said, but I answered automatically, "Okay. I'll be right there."

**A/N:**

**Here we are****, struggling to come up with something meaningful to say at the end of this chapter. Sigh.**** The only thing that can be said is**** that this story is very personal ****for**** both ****of us****, and may also be familiar to some of **_**Proxy**_**'s readers.**

This chapter is dedicated to the friends and family members who inspired this story. If you or someone you know has experienced what Bella is going through right now, tell us about it.

As always, we appreciate each and every one of you who first and foremost, reads this story. The favorites, alerts, and reviews are the icing on the cake. We hope you plan to stick it out… we're nearing the halfway point.

Love and thanks…  
S32 and TG.


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